In the last few moments, an Aer Lingus Regional flight bound for Belfast declared an emergency and returned to Birmingham Airport due to a suspicious device found onboard.
There is limited information regarding this incident, but below is what we know so far.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
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EAG47S – Belfast to Birmingham: Emergency Return…
Aer Lingus Regional flight EAG47S, which declared an emergency, is a routine scheduled flight between Birmingham Airport and Belfast.
The aircraft involved in today’s emergency is G-CMJJ.
As per data from Planespotters.net, G-CMJJ is a 8.0 year old ATR 72 that started out life with TransNusa in May 2016.
Furthermore, by July 2021, the aircraft was handed back to lessor Nordic Aviation Capital.
In May 2022, Emerald Airlines, who operates the flights for Aer Lingus Regional, took delivery of the aircraft, originally registered as EI-HDJ.
By March 2023, the aircraft was subsequently re-registered to G-CMJJ under the UK subsidiary of the airline.
Of the ATR 72 variant, Aer Lingus regional has 17 in the fleet, of which 15 are in active service and two are parked.
Furthermore, average fleet age for the variant at the airline stands at 8.9 years.
Aer Lingus Regional flight EAG47S departed Birmingham at 1552 local time.
Whilst climbing out to Belfast, the crew onboard declared an emergency via the 7700 squawk code.
Furthermore, a u-turn was made and a subsequent descent back into BHX was made.
It is understood that the aircraft made a safe emergency landing back into Birmingham at around 1625 local time.
Suspicious Device Onboard…
As per @FlightEmergency on X, it is understood the cause of the emergency is quite sinister.
The crew on Aer Lingus Regional flight EAG47S between Birmingham and Belfast have reported a suspicious device onboard.
It is understood that the aircraft will no doubt get taken to a safe area at the airport to investigate.
Furthermore, as soon as we have more information pertinent to this, then we will update you below.
This remains a developing story.
UPDATE #1 @ 1700 UK time – @FlightEmergency reports that Birmingham Airport is closed until further notice following this incident!
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