Ryanair flight emergency: Boeing 737 plane from Manchester Airport to Brussels raises 7700 squawk code only 25 minutes after departing

A Ryanair Boeing flight from Manchester Airport to Brussels in Belgium declared an emergency this morning (Monday 10 June). According to online site AirLive the flight departed Manchester at 6.49am BST for a one-hour flight to Brussels but the aircraft landed only 25 minutes after departure.

AirLive said: “The flight departed Manchester on time this Monday, June 10 2024 at 06:49 BST for a one-hour flight to Brussels, Belgium. The Boeing 737 MAX 8200 (registration EI-IFX) climbed to 15,000 ft then the crew stopped and declared an emergency.

“The aircraft landed only 25 minutes after departure on runway 05L at Manchester Airport. It taxied to a remote area of the airport.”

AviationSource posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the aircraft returned to the origin airport of Manchester Airport. It added: “The flight declared an emergency with transponder code 7700 earlier this morning not long after its departure for Brussels. The nature of the emergency prompting the early return is not yet known”.

The plane squawking 7700 indicates a general emergency. 7700 is a squawk code that is reserved for emergency situations and immediately alerts Air Traffic Control (ATC) and other units that the aircraft squawking 7700 is in distress. It may be assigned by Air Traffic Control or the pilots may decide to enter it into their transponder themselves. 

Ryanair told NationalWorld: “This flight from Manchester to Brussels (10 June) returned to Manchester shortly after take-off due to a minor technical issue with the aircraft. The aircraft was inspected by engineers and has since returned to service, however to minimise disruption to passengers, Ryanair arranged for an alternative aircraft to operate this flight to Brussels which departed Manchester at 8.05am this morning.”

The incident comes after a Ryanair Boeing 737 flight from Gran Canaria Airport to Manchester declared an emergency on Monday 13 May. Ryanair told NationalWorld that the flight diverted to Brest after a “passenger became ill on board”.