The Tui Boeing 787 was flying from Cancun in Mexico to Manchester in December 2023 when the bad weather forced it to divert to East Midlands airport, according to a report from Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB).
However, the aircraft was turned away from East Midlands because of “capacity constraints” so the pilot tried instead to land at Birmingham airport, only for its first attempt to be abandoned owing to windshear.
Despite the Tui pilot declaring a “mayday” emergency because it was running out of fuel, another aircraft was then cleared to land first at Birmingham.
Eventually, the Tui flight was able to land safely at Birmingham, but by that time, it was only carrying around two-thirds of its minimum required fuel level.
The investigation also found that the Tui aircraft had loaded extra fuel in Cancun after seeing forecasts for potentially bad weather in the UK.
The AAIB said that following the incident, both East Midlands and Birmingham airports had implemented “safety action in relation to diversions and aircraft emergencies”.
East Midlands has clarified its procedures after finding that its channels had “not resulted in a clear and effective understanding" about the flights the airport could accept.
Meanwhile, Birmingham has issued a new safety bulletin that priority must be given to any aircraft in an emergency situation.
