A Ryanair plane was forced to make an emergency landing after an "unidentified smoke smell" was discovered during the flight.
The FR4052 flight had to divert to France while mid-journey after concerns were raised that there could be a "fire on board".
The Boeing 737 aircraft took off from Manchester Airport on Monday shortly after 6.30pm and was bound for Faro in Portugal.
However, during the journey it was forced to make an emergency landing in Brest, in western France.
The plane was pictured on the runway with fire crews in attendance, with unconfirmed initial reports suggesting that there may have been a "fire" on board, as the Manchester Evening News reports.
Flight tracking software also suggested that the plane descended rapidly from 41,000ft to 6,725ft in seven minutes.
Ryanair have since confirmed that the flight diversion was down to "a minor technical issue which caused an unidentified smoke smell in the cabin".
The airline added that passengers were able to board another flight from Brest and arrived in Faro after delays of three hours.
A Ryanair spokesperson told the Irish Mirror: “This flight from Manchester to Faro (03 Jan) diverted to Brest Airport as a precaution due to a minor technical issue which caused an unidentified smoke smell in the cabin.
"Passengers disembarked the aircraft as normal and were taken to a secure area in Brest airport where they were provided with refreshments.
"An aircraft from London Stansted was arranged to carry the passengers on the remainder of their journey to Faro, following a delay of under 3 hours.
"Following an inspection of the aircraft by our engineers, the aircraft was released back to service.”
It comes as an Aer Lingus flight from Birmingham to Dublin was also forced to make an emergency landing in Manchester on Monday evening.
According to Aer Lingus it was due to a "technical issue", with customers forced to stay overnight in a Manchester hotel and continue their journey on Tuesday morning.
A spokesperson said: "Aer Lingus flight EI277 Birmingham-Dublin diverted to Manchester due to a technical issue.
"All customers have disembarked and will continue their journey to Dublin tomorrow morning.
"Hotel accommodation has been provided. Aer Lingus apologises for any inconvenience caused."
