Emirates flight declared an emergency and diverted to Edinburgh amid Storm Chandra.
EDINBURGH — An Emirates Boeing 777-300ER was forced to make an emergency diversion to Edinburgh Airport (EDI) on Tuesday morning after severe weather conditions caused by Storm Chandra prevented a landing at its original destination.
Flight EK35, which departed from Dubai International Airport (DXB) at approximately 7:25 AM local time, was scheduled to land at Newcastle International Airport (NCL) at 11:20 AM GMT. However, the aircraft, registered as A6-EPG, encountered significant difficulty as it approached the northeast of England.
Failed Approaches and Emergency Declaration
Flight tracking data indicates that the aircraft made two unsuccessful landing attempts on Newcastle’s Runway 07. Local weather reports at the time of the attempts (11:20 AM GMT) confirmed challenging conditions, including rain, mist, and wind gusts reaching up to 29 knots.
Following the two “go-around” procedures, the flight crew climbed to 10,000 feet and entered a holding pattern for approximately 20 minutes. During this time, the pilots “squawked” 7700, the international transponder code used to declare a general mid-air emergency. This declaration prioritizes the aircraft for air traffic control and alerts ground emergency services.
Diversion to Edinburgh
Due to the persistent extreme weather impacting the Newcastle area, the decision was made to divert north to Scotland. The aircraft successfully landed on Runway 06 at Edinburgh Airport at approximately 12:05 PM GMT. The total journey time from Dubai was roughly 8 hours and 23 minutes.
Storm Chandra Impact
The diversion occurred as Storm Chandra continues to batter the United Kingdom and Ireland, bringing heavy rain, snow, and wind gusts of up to 60 mph in some regions. The Met Office has issued several yellow and amber weather warnings across Scotland and northern England, noting that the storm has significantly disrupted road, rail, and air travel.
