A UK passenger flight to Cancun was forced to divert to Gatwick after a cockpit window shattered mid-flight.
The TUI plane from Manchester got as far as Dublin before its pilot was told to land at the London airport over safety concerns on Thursday.
Travellers on the Mexico-bound plane were left stranded in the capital as the flight company scrambled to find a new aircraft for the passengers.
In a series of tweets, flight tracker account AirLive described how a window had shattered on the plane..
TUI confirmed the flight was diverted after the aircraft’s windshield was damaged, and urged that incidents like this are “extremely rare”.
It said in statement: “TUI Airways would like to apologise for any inconvenience to our customers on board flight TOM174 travelling from Manchester to Cancun.
'The flight has diverted to London Gatwick airport as a result of damage to the aircraft’s windscreen. We will be in contact with customers directly to advise of their new departure time.
"The safety of our customers and crew is of paramount importance to us and we would like to reassure everyone that events such as these are extremely rare. “
The Boeing 787-8 was scheduled to leave Manchester at 9.15am but did not take off until 11.06am amid the extreme weather conditions today.
