British Airways A320 makes emergency landing at Manchester

A British Airways Airbus A320 made an emergency landing at Manchester Airport this afternoon.

The jet, G-MIDS (c/n 1424) was operating as BA9275 between Glasgow and London/Heathrow.

A spokesperson for the flag carrier told Key.Aero that the narrowbody was conducting a positioning flight without passengers onboard.

BA9275's flight track showing its hold north of Manchester and approach into the airport.
BA9275's flight track showing its hold north of Manchester and approach into the airport. Flightradar24

According to flight tracking data, the flight appeared to be proceeding normally until it approached Blackpool when it turned left and began a descent into a holding pattern to the north of Manchester.

The 22-year-old twinjet touched down at 12.18pm and was met on the ground by airport fire and support vehicles.

G-MIDS seen here in 2015 landing at London/Heathrow.
G-MIDS seen here in 2015 landing at London/Heathrow. Aviation Image Network/Simon Gregory

In a statement, BA said: “Our pilots requested a priority landing in Manchester as a precaution due to a minor technical issue, and the aircraft landed normally.”

The specific technical issue is not currently known.

One of BA’s oldest A320s, G-MIDS is a former bmi British Midland example and was transferred to the flag carrier’s fleet on September 3, 2012.