Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Newcastle turned around

The Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Newcastle returned to the Irish capital after performing a U-turn over the Irish sea a short time into its journey today (Tuesday, July 18).

The flight, codenamed EI3350, left Dublin shortly before 8.40am headed for Newcastle Airport, but turned around after just 20 minutes and landed safely back at Dublin just after 9.10am.

Read more: Ant and Dec surprise holidaymakers at Newcastle Airport

Aer Lingus has since confirmed the plane suffered a “technical issue” and it was turned around as a precaution.

An inspection of the aircraft, an ATR72 turboprop, was carried out and it took off again at about 11.25am for Newcastle.

The Irish flag-carrier has apologised to passengers for the inconvenience.

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A spokesperson for the airline said: “Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Emerald Airlines, can confirm that flight EI3350 from Dublin to Newcastle returned to Dublin shortly after take-off as a precautionary measure due a technical issue.

“The aircraft landed normally and following an inspection, flight EI3350 operated to Newcastle a short time later.

 “We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our passengers and thank them for their patience.”