A Ryanair flight from Manchester to Faro in Portugal was forced to plunge 35,000ft in seven minutes to make an emergency landing in France following reports of a "fire on board".
The Ryanair flight, (FR4052) took off from Manchester airport shortly after 6.30pm on Monday but mid journey, it was forced to make an emergency landing in Brest, in western France, reported the Manchester Evening News.
It was pictured on the runway with fire crews in attendance, and reports have been made of a "fire" on board however this has not yet been confirmed.
A person tweeted at the airport: "Ryanair #FR4052 went down in emergency in Brest due to a fire outside the aircraft, all passengers got out on a bus taken by the French police."
He later corrected the tweet to say that the fire was inside the plane.
The diversion to Brest could be seen on flight tracking websites which also showed the alarming descent made by the plane.
The aircraft could be seen to have plunged from its cruising height of 41,000ft to just 6,725, in seven minutes.
Emergency services could be seen meeting the Ryanair operated Boeing 737 aircraft on the runway with numerous fire engines and passengers were reportedly escorted onto a bus by French police.
Current coronavirus restrictions state that travellers arriving in France must self-isolate for 48 hours before taking a PCR test.
It comes as another flight from Birmingham to Dublin, operated by Aer Lingus, was forced to make an emergency landing in Manchester on Monday evening.
According to Aer Lingus it was due to a "technical issue".
All customers have also been provided with a hotel stay overnight before continuing their journey to Dublin in the morning.
It is reported by the Manchester Evening News that fire crews were also on hand to meet the aircraft when it landed at 8.30pm.
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."
Ryanair was contacted for comment.
