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31st May 2022

Aer Lingus flight forced to return to Dublin Airport following emergency onboard

Hugh Carr

Aer Lingus emergency

A “badly shattered right-hand windscreen” was the cause of the redirection.

An Aer Lingus plane was forced to return to Dublin after declaring an emergency onboard.

Flight tracking software Radar Box showed the flight across the Irish Sea making a loop back to Ireland at around 3.30pm on Tuesday (31 May).

The plane was a few miles from the coast of Wales when it began its return, only 20 minutes after takeoff.

The emergency experienced by passengers was reportedly a “badly shattered right-hand windscreen”.

The emergency is the second such reroute that Aer Lingus has had this year, with a flight between Birmingham and Dublin being redirected to Manchester in early January.

In a statement to JOE, a spokesperson for Emerald Airlines, the exclusive operator for Aer Lingus regional flights said:

“Aer Lingus regional, operated by Emerald Airlines, can confirm that flight EI3326 from Dublin Airport to Manchester Airport, 31st May, returned to Dublin shortly after take-off due to a technical issue onboard. The aircraft landed safely in Dublin a short time later.

“Affected customers will be rebooked on the next available flight this evening. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers.”

Eamon Ryan has said there is no guarantee that there won’t be a repeat of the hectic scenes at Dublin Airport this past weekend.

The Minister for Transport made the comments following a meeting with the Dublin Airport Authority on Tuesday (31 May).

“They said they cannot guarantee, but they have to, as we said, do absolutely everything in their power, and Government will do everything they can to support, to make sure we don’t see those scenes again,” Ryan said.

The Dublin Airport Authority (daa) is set to publish plans within the next 24 hours to avoid a repeat of the scenes across the June Bank Holiday weekend.

The new plans to improve queue management will likely remain in place during the busiest summer period as people prepare to go on holidays.

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