TUI flight to Cyprus declares 'bird strike' emergency after take-off from UK

A TUI flight from the UK to Cyprus was diverted after an emergency was declared onboard due to a "bird strike".

The Boeing 737, flight number TOM 6754 , was bound for Paphos in Cyprus when the incident occurred at 4.30pm on Sunday as the plane took off from Cardiff. The flight was rerouted to Birmingham.

Operations were suspended at Birmingham Airport while emergency services met the aircraft upon its arrival. Flight maps show the plane circled Swansea Bay at approximately 3,000ft before climbing up to 12,000ft and heading towards the West Midlands to land.

Passengers and crew were safely disembarked after the aircraft burned fuel circling before landing at 5.30pm. The plane was met on the runway by four fire appliances and other emergency vehicles.

READ MORE: Stowaway found dead in American Airlines landing gear after transatlantic flight

READ MORE: Baby falls ill and dies suddenly as police probe 'unexplained' death

A TUI spokesperson confirmed the incident was caused by birds close to Cardiff Airport when the plane was taking off. The diversion was carried out as a precaution.

They said: "To confirm, there was no engine failure. There was a bird strike after take-off and the diversion that followed was a precautionary routine procedure."

A spokesperson for Cardiff Airport said: "We are aware of an incident involving flight TOM6754 from Cardiff to Paphos. The safety of our passengers is our number one priority. The aircraft diverted to Birmingham Airport (BHX) and landed safely at approximately 17:30."

Last monthsall flights were put on hold for several hours at Birmingham Airport following an 'incident with a light aircraft' on the runway that left one person injured.

A number of planes were diverted from the airport on August 5 while others were delayed significantly. At 2.48pm, Birmingham Airport's official Twitter account announced that its runway was closed. Two hours later, security and check-in was closed.

A picture from the scene showed a white light-aircraft on a runway surrounded by emergency vehicles. West Midlands Police said one person had suffered minor injuries after a small aircraft made an emergency landing at the airport.

The force said: “We are at Birmingham Airport this afternoon after a small aircraft was involved in an emergency landing at around 1.40pm."

The Mirror has contacted TUI for comment.