Crew member falls ill on TUI flight from Newcastle to Gran Canaria

The flight was forced to return to Newcastle Airport after turning around over the Irish Sea.

The plane, a Boeing 737, took off from the airport at around 3.45pm on its way to the Canary Island of Gran Canaria.

Read more: Teesside Airport forced to close runway and divert flights as plane veers off

But around an hour into the flight it made a U-turn back to the Tyneside airport.

The TUI fight landed safely back in Newcastle at about 7pm, according to flight tracking data.

Initial reports online suggested one of the pilots had fallen unwell, however the ill crew member’s role was not confirmed by the airline.

A TUI spokesperson said: “We’d like to apologise to customers on flight TOM1424 bound for Gran Canaria who had to return to Newcastle Airport shortly after take-off today due to a crew member becoming unwell.

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 “A new flight will take everyone to their holiday destinations tomorrow and in the meantime everyone who has needed it has been provided with overnight accommodation.

 “Customers will be contacted directly with details of the new flight details and we’d like to thank them for their patience and understanding.”

Last November an Emirates flight landing into Newcastle declared an emergency and was met by paramedics to treat an unwell passenger.