Manchester Airport Forum | MAN diverts April onwards...

Thanks guys...

We have a Lufthansa A340 on the way in...... A medical divert Reg is D-AIGI Arriving at about 2015.

Flight number for the LH is LH420. En route FRA-BOS turned round just past Ireland.

Thanks steve.

Lufthansa A340's are always welcome here!

2125 its showing as departing.... however it is just about to push back....

Cheers mate

Thanks w_r

Not as glamorous LS406 ex LBA G-LSAD

Reason for the divert was due to fog at LBA. Everything else is getting apart from the Boeing 757-200's due to the not be able to accept CAT3 onto 32 as the viability is below the required minimum for them to make a CAT2 approach..

I would guess that G-LSAH which is currently in the hold over LBA operating the LS252 from Faro will be following G-LSAD over to Manchester along with G-LSAB which is due in at around 01:30 on the LS218Q from Arrecife if the Fog doesn't clear up in time.

LS252 from Faro operated by G-LSAH now as expected on his way to Manchester.

TOM6696 / 6MD G-OOBI BRS-IBZ div to here. Easier to fix something?

Also PK775 from LBA due at 2300 due to lengthy delay and not wanting to disturb LBA residents.

on the airport arrivels board it says that it is now cancelled

sorry the PK775 is cancelled

Came in with a hydraulic problem, got fixed and off it went

PIA775 will now be allowed into LBA as it's made sometime up.

Bugger, I missed it

Just to add a bit of interest to it... I believe DSA was closed due to the rejected takeoff of XH558 and subsequent discovery of FOD on the runway.

See I knew people would be distraught at this, so Ive arranged for the Samaritans lines to be left clear for those who find the thought too much.

AF072 diverting in due c1445

F-GSPR B772

AF was routing CDG-LAX, diverted due to suspected heart attack onboard. Parked on Stand 31 in T1.

StarMonarA380

whats FOD

F-GSPR B777 has just departed

FOD = Foreign Object Debris (or Damage)

Its quite unusul for a divert to park on terminal, let alone the 'wrong one'. AF chose MAN due yo medlink specifying a Wythenshawe cardiothorasic ITU as the preffered treatment centre.

Possibly because a jetty is the best way of getting the sick passenger off fast. If you have to mess about with scissor lifts it can take a while and then there's the problem of crossing the apron. Paramedics can be waiting on the jetway with a trolley, then load up and go whilst working as you move.

Bloody lucky 31 was free if that's the case.

I'd imagine it's more to do with stand availability than 'remote vs airbridge' type thing. MAN only has a few remote stands capable of large wingspanned aircraft, 85 and taxiway papa being the main ones.

Regardless of whether an aircraft goes remote or parks on a contact stand, an ambulift is usually provided to assist the passenger off the aircraft as some gates (especially in T1) have no lifts down to the apron.

Jet2 will be operating Manchester to Faro service LS875 from Leeds-Bradford this afternoon. Passengers will be coached over the M62 to catch there flight.

The aircraft will operate the inbound LS876 from Faro direct to Manchester then position back into Leeds as LS041A.

No doubt they will be rushing the PAX's over to LBA asap. If they are delayed by 3 hours or more on a route of over 1500km (as measured by the great circle method) they will be due assistance and compensation. Not that Jet2 will pay it without a fight.

For anyone who gets delayed see article 6 and 7 in the following.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004R0261:EN:HTML

Apparently, this is because the privilidge style B757 has been grounded by the Spanish CAA. Not sure what the issue actually is.

Saw one of them push back from stand 26 about 1600

The Privelige aircraft is operating LS880 from Alicante at the moment, just turning over Stockport.

It's more likely to be a 733 that's gone tech and even more likely to be G-CELC!

TCX2148 / 62TG got all the way to Dubrovnik and returning back. Was supposed to be going to Heraklion!!!

EK017 DIVERTING A380

Nice 1. All the way from Dubrovnik to shut the place. Thanks for that! Shame it didn't pop into LGW!!!

Yep, EK017 heading towards LHR now

Also lost 2x Thomson Airways flights which diverted to Liverpool along with the Emirates A380 which Diverted to London-Heathrow

TOM44A from Gerona = B737-800, G-FDZW
TOM88P from Alicante = B757-200, G-OOBA

The good news is that everything is getting in now by looks off things.

What is going on at MAN?

EK A380 failed to lower landing gear. Tried numerous time but attempts failed so it's heading to LHR.

Seems not! Got to love how rumours spread around the office! Seems a problem with a TCX aircraft.

Thanks Tom787, EK017 landed at LHR so I presume it will be heading back to MAN soon? if it can find a slot..

TCX62TG returned en route to Heraklion (had got as far as Croatia!!). Landed on 23L and employed most of our fire cover leaving nowt for 23R. Fire cover then downgraded and not able to take anything as big as A380.

Sorry, I'm missing something here. If the TCX landed on 23L, why didn't the following a/c land 23R?

If the issue was fire cover, are we saying that because it was required on 23L, 23R was not available?

I always the thought the plan for emergencies / technical issues was for the a/c to land 23L if possible so that the airfield could remain operational in the event the a/c with the problem was unable to clear the runway.

MAN Departures says EK018 is Estimated 17:40, must be heading back up soon..

Can someone tell me why TCX62TG if he had a emergency over Dubrovnik didn't divert to a nearest airport or continue to Heraklion rather than return to MAN.According to my rough estimate he was only about 550-600 miles from Heraklion but decided to come back to MAN which is at least 3 times further thanks dean

MAN has maintenance cover for TCX so the problem could be fixed earlier, and probably had spare aircraft lying around to put the pax on and get them moving quickly

EK017D is on the way back to MAN.

if the aircraft had enough fuel to return as well then best burn it off coming home rather than going in circles round the Adriatic.


All available fire cover goes to a call. It doesn't matter if one or two runways are active if it's a major incident, as outside cover also gets brought in from Cheshire and Wythenshawe etc. Traffic on the other runway also gets suspended as the disaster action plan is implemented, which gives a clear route for fire and ambulance vehicles to and from the incident.

It then takes a while to stand down from the major alert. Wythenshawe and Manchester Royal Infirmary will also be on major alert status. Unfortunately I am old enough to remember the British Airtours accident and the Parkway being closed to all traffic to allow for emergency vehicles to travel at top speed.

Thanks Sam i know TCX have got an engineering base at MAN but it couldn't have been a serious problem to come all the way back that far.Someone mentioned it was a wheel fire but the only thing i can think of at that height it was a electric fault because if it was a fire he would have diverted to the nearest airport surely.

Wheel fire could be the result of heavy braking on landing, did the aircraft have hydraulic problems (therefore no flaps)?

There's a million and one reasons why they returned to MAN, but the crew probably didn't want to get stuck downroute with no maintenance cover and a tech problem which meant they couldn't deaprt

If it was going into Heraklion and had a major hydraulic issue with dodgy undercarriage then using the fuel up to get back to MAN is a better idea than crash landing on a smaller Greek airport.

Lots of factors involved here including TCX being consulted and obviously suggesting a return to MAN would make it a lot easier for everyone if it did indeed go tits up. If people are going to get hurt it's better to have them closer to home. Post-crash management is a nightmare scenario for any airline so if you can get back to home base then it's easier on everyone concerned.

Thanks for the info it couldn't have been that serious my friend is a TCX stewardess and she has been called in as part of the crew to take it back outbound to Heraklion

I think this was my query - why was it regarded as a potential major incident? And how quickly was it downgraded after landing? Had the pilot declared a PAN? Whilst I can understand the crew wanting to get the a/c down as soon as possible, could ATC have sequenced the traffic differently?
No doubt it was handled correctly but just curious.

OY-VKF is now operating this flight and has just left MAN

I'm not totally clued up on it, but I think there is a 'local standby' which means a few fire engines will follow the aircraft to stand, or a full emergency where county emergency services are called on standby, I'd imagine a hydraulic problem falls under the latter.

Hydraulic fluid leaking onto hot brakes was the cause of the smoke/fire from the undercarriage. Usually these incidents are non-events however if the AFS deploy hoses then the airport fire category is immiediately downgraded as they would not be able to meet response times to any furter incident.
In this case the fire cover was zero for about 25 minutes the gradually restored.

Thanks for your informed comments guys. For those of us less conversant with these issues it helps us better understand the reasons for certain actions and decisions taken.

No serious consequences fortunately and the diverted a/c even returned to MAN.

G-LSAD seems to have diverted in (Faro to Leeds Bradford) with a go-around or two following it according to FR24.

bit foggy up there

Leeds webcam

LS252 operated by Boeing 757-200, G-LSAD was diverted to Manchester from Leeds due to a heavy rain storm passing through the airfield which brought with it low cloud, Also on his second go-around they declared a full medical emergency hence the divert.

Keep your eyes out for LHR diverts. im at a friends house and my view of LHR is slowly vanishing into a mist.

What can we expect, short haul will probably go to LGW or stanstead and longhaul to LGW as well?

Heads up. As Birmingham is currently closed due to a bloody thunderstorm, So we may see some diverts heading up are way.

I think its open with aircraft getting in now.

Seems a Ryanair and Brussels airlines are holding at BHX again.

EK going to EMA?!?! Now thats a very rare diversion. Wonder whats prompted that, rather than MAN?

2 TOM's going to EMA as well by the looks of it, but LH and Swiss making approaches for BHX.

I can understand the 3 diverts to EMA but EK? It is still a MAG airport though and maybe the A380 handling was an issue.

Looks like 6 diverts to EMA and 2 to LTN.

If the LH and SR had diverted, and had gone to EMA also, then I would be suspicious that there is an issue at MAN. The EK is still a puzzle though. Can Sam or any of the others at the airport shed any light?

I have heard that LPL were warned that fuel was still an issue from Stanlow. Could this still be affecting MAN and they would rather conserve their fuel for our own flights incase of another issue?

There may well be no 'no-div' notam, but could be politely telling airlines no? The no div notam may not be up so that MAN can still take in emergencies?

In these types of circumstances, MAN (and other parties involved) have very little say in whether they want the divert or not. It's only really when we have the bad weather that handling agents or the airport authority may start to turn stuff away when they are physically incapable of handling the flight due to equipment or staff shortages. For the middle of Summer, I can't see any reason why the airport would say no, and I doubt the handling agent would be informed until it's well on it's way.

I'd imagine BHX will be open soon, so EK might be flying there shortly? If so, it makes sense to go EMA for a quick fuel top up if needed to wait for the weather to improve. If it was a full turnaround, they'd probably have opted for MAN

Emirates normal policy is to head for an operating station where possible. The fact it went to EMA says that MAN has refused the flight for some reason, and NCL/GLA were too far away.

Maybe so, but it's still the captains shout at the end of the day, I've seen plenty of diverts that make no sense, purely down to the captains personal preferences. I just can't see why they'd turn it away without any good reason

But this is what Im saying.

EK captains normally follow company guidelines (different culture out there remember), and as MANDIV has said, for ALL 8 diverts to go to EMA shows that something was evidently stopping them choosing MAN?

British Airways, Airbus A320, G-EUUJ operating flight SHT6F from Heathrow to Glasgow has just diverted and made an emergency landing into Manchester.

Came in due to a (very urgent) medical case onboard. Captain made a rapid exit from the runway, which even got a 'Very impressive' from ATC over the radio. Aircraft parked on stand 15 for some time but I'm not sure what the outcome was, hopefully the pax was ok...

If ATC even commended the pilot I wish i'd seen it. Sorry I'm a bit late, but do I follow correctly:

An EK A380 went to EMA?

No it was the EK38 DXB-BHX flight, a B77W last week due to weather.

Seems SN2183 OO-DWD is diverting to Liverpool. Other flights holding but EY/EK taking off. Assuming weather related?

It looks from Leeds arrivals that 3 of their LS flights diverted somewhere in the early hours. Out of interest, did any of them come here?

Two postioning flights from MAN and one from East Midlands showing on Leeds arrivals.

Thanks David - I should have thought of looking for positioning flights. Too early for putting brain into gear!

Not much, but BE 731 apparently diverted in late this afternoon from LBA.

We might have got 2 x LS B757 as they are only CAT1 at LBA and the RVR was below 550m for nearly an hour, but they eventually got in after holding for 40 minutes.

Seems visibility is an issue for LBA today.

We have had 2xJet2 B757's and a TCX A320.

Now, Ryanair from DUB looks LPL/MAN bound.

Yes, LS 266 and LS 224 arrived during the night and TCX 8505 at about 06.40.
LS 476 surprisingly went to Newcastle, and the RYR 152 to LPL.
KLM 1545 was on our arrivals but appears to have got in at LBA.

Hi guys and girls, is A6-EDD on the UAE201 DXB-JFK coming into MAN? just over Newcastle now on track 208.

Coming into MAN now, aircraft problem or medical emergency? was way out over Norway when decided to change airports...

Parking stand 62 crew requested paramedics to meet aircraft.

Had to do a double take when I saw it floating by.

Helicopter landed just before and took off shortly after EK201 arrived, not sure if it was related as they usually call a medi type callsign and this one didn't - however it was only going local after depart from Manchester.
I noted the aircraft was asking to use full runway length and then utilised a 'Follow Me' vehicle.

Anyway hope the person involved is OK.

Can't see a Helimed being of any use. Wythenshawe Hospital is only minutes away by ambulance down the lanes. By the time you have the casualty loaded the ambulance can be half way there.

Diverting here would indicate a stabilised heart attack or stroke victim. Someone over at a.net once made the case that EK201/202 is likely to have a higher than normal diversion rate because the chances of someone taking ill aboard an A380 are that much higher just due to numbers. Same really for all A380s going over the pond so maybe one day we'll see AF or LH aircraft calling in.

Thanks World_Rep, would have been interesting to see.

I know that Wythenshawe A and E is only minutes away in an ambulance but I would have thought surely if you have a life and death emergency onboard a helicopter would still be far quicker. Not only that but when you consider the time of the morning ie rush-hour traffic and the fact that the patient had already been waiting for proper help for say an hour or more since the aircraft turned around over Norway (I presume even though it was an emergency MAN was the nearest A380-able airport) using a helicopter makes sense to me!

Firstly, whilst the medial issue may have been over Norway, the aircraft would have had enough fuel onboard to get it over the Atlantic and may needed to have burnt off fuel to get it to a weight it was safe to land at. There may not be a suitable A380 airport in Norway, so burning off the fuel by travelling to MAN, where EK send the A380 and therefore can handle the thing and is still next door to a decent hospital, is more practical.

As for a helicopter, if you're 5 mins max from a hospital by road, it is awfully expensive to get the helicopter out for what would probably be 2 mins saved. If the incident occurred over an hour ago in Norway, those 2 extra minutes may not be critical. Something really critical, I suspect, would have led to the plane landing heavy in Norway.

I forget the name but hasnt an airport in Scandinavia, I'm sure it was Norway as well, just been made an A380 diversion point by EK as it is right on the flight path of their DXB-JFK flight?

Yes it was Bodo airport.

However, I think MAN will continue to be used.

Remember STN making a lot of noise about being selected by EK as the 'diversion point' for all Trans Atlantic and UK flights, but every divert en route to the US/Canada, as well as LHR have all come to MAN so far....

The sick passenger was taken to hospital by ROAD ambulance. I am not aware of a coincident helicopter movement, was it an inbound to Ashley or Davenport Green?
The diverted A380 arrived circa 1415 not in the morning rush hour.

Thanks world_rep, thats the one. I can see why they'd go for MAN though.

Some years back I was involved in helping a transplant team whose road transport had broken down, when light aircraft were used to bring in the boxes. We met up at the old Southside gate (long gone I might add) and went down the lanes to the back of Wythenshawe hospital.

It's a pretty quick journey if you know those lanes and puts you out where the old part of the hospital once stood (where the maternity unit was). Casualty and the main entrances are just down the road. It's a fast journey, can be a bit hairy if there's a lorry coming the other way but the ambulance crews will know it blindfolded.

Well, where EK201 made its turn - MAN was 180 km/100 nautical miles closer than BOO. SVG, BGO and TRD could have offered help, but these three airports are not approved for the A380 yet, but all three have C-5s, An-124s and the B744s on regular visits. OSL have 22 current NOTAMs and the majority of them are connected to ongoing construction work. Two of the taxiways (Mike and Tango) that are worked at would have been within the A380 restricted zone - hence no help can be offered to the A380s in July and August.