Flights forced to land 500 MILES away with others diverted to Manchester Airport amid 'dangerous' Storm Isha winds

Flights performed ‘go arounds’ with others aborting landings amid ‘dangerous’ Storm Isha winds on Sunday (January 21). A number of flights were forced to divert to Manchester Airport amid the treacherous conditions.

The UK was blanketed by danger-to-life wind warnings amid Storm Isha, with people warned not to travel and the looming threat of 90mph gusts battering the nation.

Air traffic control restrictions were introduced, leading to some flight cancellations at airports across the UK, including in Manchester. In other instances, pilots were forced to abort landings and fly hundreds of miles away to touchdown safely.

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National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said: “Due to adverse weather conditions across the UK, temporary air traffic restrictions are in place. Restrictions of this sort are only every applied to maintain safety. Our teams are working closely with airports and airlines to minimise disruption. Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline.”

Data provided by FlightRadar24 has revealed the paths from a number of flights on Sunday, including a number that were forced to divert to Manchester Airport. Others had to fly almost 500 miles away from their destination amid the ‘dangerous’ winds.

Among those diverted was Ryanair flight FR661 from Birmingham to Dublin. The flight, that departed at around 10.30am, attempted to land before flying back over the Irish Sea and diverting to Manchester.

The flight path of the Ryanair flight from Birmingham to Dublin that was forced to divert

On social media site X, formerly Twitter, Joe Fenny, a passenger on board, said it was ‘one of the scariest experiences’ of his life. He wrote: “The storm has caused massive winds in Dublin, they tried to land but the plane was genuinely swinging back and forth, it felt like stuff was hitting the sides of the plane.

“Genuinely one of the scariest experiences of my life. First time I’ve applauded a pilot. I could have kissed the bloke when we hit the tarmac in Manc.”

Ryanair flight FR1504, from Gdansk to Leeds, circled over Yorkshire on Sunday afternoon multiple times before it was diverted to Manchester Airport. It landed at around 1pm.

The plane circled over Yorkshire before diverting to Manchester

British Airways flight BA1428, from London Heathrow to Belfast City, performed another dramatic diversion amid the strong wind gusts, circling over Northern Ireland before suddenly aborting the landing and diverting instead to Manchester Airport. The flight landed shortly before 6pm.

The British Airways flight diverted to Manchester after attempting to land in Belfast

A Ryanair flight from Manchester, heading for Dublin, was also forced to divert on Sunday afternoon. Instead of landing in Dublin International Airport, which had already issued a public warning about possible flight cancellations, delays and a stream of aborted landings, the flight instead turned and landed almost 500 miles away at Paris Beauvais-Tille Airport.

The flight was forced to land almost 500 miles away in Paris due to the winds

Earlier on Sunday, Manchester Airport announced that there was no ‘impact to operations’ following the weather warning. Passengers were advised to contact their airline for further information about their flights.

In a statement, Manchester Airport said: “An amber weather warning is in place today for high winds. There is no impact to airport operations. Passengers are advised to check with their airline for up-to-date flight information. Road and rail services may be impacted. Plan ahead and allow extra time and care for your journey to the airport.”