Jet2 airline defends dramatic landing after diverting from Leeds Bradford airport

The flight from Crete is said to have circled the skies above the runways at Leeds Bradford airport for an hour before having to head across the Pennines to Manchester Airport late last Thursday night.

Despite reports saying the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing, a spokesperson for Jet2 said it was "a precautionary measure" after the flaps that are used to reduce the speed of the aeroplane didn't work properly.

The pilot decided to fly to Manchester to land the plane as the airport had a longer runway.

A Jet2 spokesperson said last night: "On descent towards Leeds Bradford Airport flight LS444 from Heraklion went into a holding pattern in order to assess a flap indication issue. The decision was taken to divert into Manchester Airport as a precautionary measure due to it having a longer runway to facilitate a smooth landing. The aircraft landed safely and onward transport was arranged for our customers back to Leeds. The safety of our customers is always our number one priority.”