US-bound jet met by emergency crews after returning to Shannon Airport

Passengers on board a transatlantic flight from Ireland to the United States faced an anxious mid-air turnback on Saturday afternoon after their aircraft developed a technical issue shortly after take-off.

The United Airlines service had departed Shannon Airport bound for Newark, New Jersey, when the crew was forced to abandon the journey and return to County Clare less than an hour into the flight.

Flight UAL-271 took off from Shannon at 12.35pm before turning back over the Atlantic.

The Boeing 757-200 landed safely at around 1.20pm and was met by units from Shannon Airport’s Fire and Rescue Service as a precaution.

Emergency crews accompanied the aircraft to its parking stand following the landing. No injuries were reported among passengers or crew.

The flight was subsequently cancelled, leaving passengers stranded overnight in the west of Ireland.

United Airlines arranged hotel accommodation for those affected, with travellers expected to resume their journey on Sunday afternoon aboard replacement service UAL-3938, scheduled to depart at 2pm.

In a message issued to passengers, the airline said: ‘Your flight is cancelled because we needed to take the plane out of service to address a maintenance issue.

‘Your safety is our priority and we’re sorry for the inconvenience.’

The incident caused some disruption at Shannon Airport, though operations at the airport continued as normal.

 * This article was originally published on Extra.ie.