A Jet2 flight was forced to land after a bird was reportedly struck after take off. The scare unfolded shortly after the aircraft left Leeds Bradford Airport at around 9am on Monday, with the jet bound for Heraklion in Crete.

Moments into the journey, the plane is believed to have hit a bird, prompting pilots to abandon the climb and stabilise the aircraft at a lower altitude while the situation was assessed. Tracking data indicated the jet remained in the airspace north of Manchester, circling for around an hour at roughly 10,000ft as crews worked through safety checks.

The aircraft was then diverted to Manchester Airport, where it touched down safely at 9.53am, with emergency services positioned on the runway. Passenger Alex, from Baildon, recalled the alarming moment, saying there was a “very loud bang” followed by an “immediate smell of burning feathers and flesh”.

“We held north of Manchester Airport at 10,000ft for an hour or so as we waited to land”, he told the Yorkshire Post.

"Emergency crews met us at the end of the runway [in Manchester] to inspect the engine and landing gear as we landed heavy. We left the aircraft and moved to another A320 at Manchester. We were back in the air by lunchtime."