Aer Lingus flight declares mid-air emergency over UK

It was forced to divert to a UK airport

The Airbus A320neo aircraft with the registration EI-NSG took off from Dublin Airport at 6.26am this morning with Geneva, Switzerland, as its destination.

However, while flying over southern England, the crew transmitted a Squawk 7700 code, meaning to declare a mid-air emergency.

The plane then descended from 37,000 feet to divert to Gatwick Airport where it landed safely at 7.25am, as per Flightradar24.

It is fairly common for planes to squawk 7700, with it happening multiple times around the world each day.

It is not known yet the reason for declaring a mid-air emergency, although these kind of incident are fairly common and could be anything from a technical issue to a sick passenger.

The flight has since resumed its journey, leaving Gatwick at 8.17am and has just landed at its destination in Geneva.

What does it mean to squawk 7700?

Squawking 7700 is a fairly common procedure for crews and aircrafts, and happens multiple times a day around the world.

After squawking 7700, the flight crew first focuses on controlling the aircraft and dealing with the underlying emergency, then sets the transponder to 7700 to alert air traffic control.

They will usually declare the emergency over the radio, giving details such as the nature of the problem, their position, altitude, and intentions.

Air traffic control (ATC) immediately prioritises the aircraft, clearing other traffic and providing routing, altitude changes, and any assistance needed while coordinating with emergency services on the ground.

The pilots then follow the relevant emergency checklists and decide whether to divert or continue to a suitable airport for landing.