A Ryanair flight was forced to head back to Malta because of landing gear trouble this morning but landed safely after the airport triggered off its emergency procedures.

The Boeing 737 returned just after 9am and landed smoothly, although some passengers are reported to be in a state of shock.

The government said in a statement the aircraft circled at a height of 1,830 metres above Gozo a number of times to use up some of its fuel before landing at Malta International Airport.

Photo: Matthew MirabelliPhoto: Matthew Mirabelli

Although the emergency services in Malta were asked to prepare for an emergency landing, Ryanair said the aircraft landed normally and no emergency was declared.

Malta International Airport said that the flight returned to Malta due to a technical fault. It said the airport’s emergency response plan was triggered immediately as a precautionary measure and the aircraft landed safely at 9.14am.

The government said the airline reported landing gear problems soon after taking off.

The flight to Bristol left at 7.36am instead of 7.20am. However, once airborne, it turned back while it was still in Maltese airspace.

Passengers will now be leaving Malta on another aircraft this afternoon.

 

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