A Madeira-bound Monarch flight out of Birmingham was forced to make an emergency landing at Faro Airport late yesterday afternoon due to problems with the plane’s hydraulics system.
Around 320 people are believed to have been affected by the emergency landing, most of whom were British holidaymakers.
According to regional online newspaper Sulfinformação the passengers had to spend the night at a hotel in Faro.
The disruption also affected passengers waiting in Madeira to fly back to Birmingham.
Monarch airlines and airport authorities have not yet commented on the ordeal, although the airline was expected to provide updates on the work to the plane’s hydraulics.
The flight had been scheduled to land at 6.10pm in Madeira, according to news reports, when the crew noticed that something was wrong and decided to play it safe by diverting to Faro.
The plane circled the airport in order to use up fuel and reduce the risk of any accidents during the landing.
Although the airport is said to have entered “yellow alert”, the emergency went smoothly, with an easy landing.
