Rare ‘seagull strike’ forces Thomson flight to divert
A Thomson Airways’ flight from Bournemouth to Tenerife was forced to divert to Gatwick after hitting a seagull.
Passengers on flight TOM6248 were told the bird had shattered the core of one of the engines, according to claims on Twitter.
According to some news reports, passengers reported hearing a thud on take-off from the left engine and heavy vibrations.
The aircraft, which had taken off from Bournemouth at 8.21am immediately diverted to Gatwick, where it landed safely.
In a statement, Thomson said: "Thomson Airways is sorry for the delay caused to passengers on board flight TOM6248 from Bournemouth to Tenerife yesterday.
"We can confirm that following a bird strike the plane diverted to London Gatwick as a precautionary measure; passengers were put onto an alternative flight approximately three and a half hours later and landed safely in Tenerife.
"The safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance and we would like to reassure customers that issues of this nature are very rare."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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