Dubai - Mubasher: An Emirates flight from Dubai to London on Friday was diverted to Manchester Airport due to strong winds.
The A380 aircraft tried twice to land at Gatwick Airport, but declared an emergency due to high winds which led the plane to run low on fuel, Arabian Business reported.
The flight EK15 was forced to divert to Manchester where it landed safely, the UAE-based airline affirmed.
“Diversions can occur for a plethora of reasons and amongst the most frequent of these is down to prevailing weather conditions,” London-based StrategicAero Research’s chief analyst Saj Ahmed said.
Although the A380 has a less advanced system than new aeroplanes such as 787 and 777X, which have predictive weather systems against high wind, it is still “perfectly adequate” for routine flights, Ahmed noted.
“In low altitude flights against bad weather, controlling any aeroplane is difficult and, as a result, fuel burn increases,” the aviation expert added, indicating that “after two missed approaches, it made sense to divert elsewhere.”
The flight's affected passengers were accommodated overnight in hotels, while those travelling to Dubai were offered rebooking options on alternative flights where applicable,” the UAE-based airline added in a statement.
