A flight from Shannon to an airport in Egypt was forced to return to the airport this afternoon after experiencing technical difficulties over the Irish Sea.
The McDonnell-Douglas MD-83 jet took off from Shannon Airport at 1.30pm bound for Hurghada airport in Egypt.
Soon after departure, the flight crew advised air traffic controllers at Shannon that they were experiencing an issue with their autopilot and navigation system.
While the aircraft was over the Irish Sea approaching the Welsh coastline, the crew declared an emergency and broadcast an emergency squawk signal however the flight continued over North Wales and into England.
About an hour leaving Shannon, the flight turned around just south of Northampton in England.
Shannon Airport’s fire and rescue service was alerted but remained on standby at their station ahead of the aircraft’s arrival.
The flight landed safely at 3.48pm.
The aircraft is expected to remain on the ground at Shannon until engineers have investigated and resolved the issue.
