A passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing after suffering a bird strike shortly after take-off.
The Boeing 737 – operated by holiday giant TUI – was due to fly from Cardiff Airport to Paphos, Cyprus but had to touch down less than an hour after taking off.
After climbing to around 3,000ft and circling Swansea Bay the plane then headed towards the West Midland to land at Birmingham Airport.
The jet was met by fire crews and emergency vehicles before passengers were able to disembark on Sunday evening.
Nobody was injured during the incident.
A Tui spokesperson said: ‘To confirm, there was no engine failure. There was a bird strike after take-off and the diversion that followed was a precautionary routine procedure.’
Operations were suspended at Birmingham Airport while emergency services were scrambled.
A Birmingham Airport spokesman added: ‘Birmingham Airport accepted an inbound TUI divert. In line with normal procedures the airport’s Fire Service met the aircraft on arrival. The aircraft landed safely.
A bird strike is a collision between an airborne animal and a moving vehicle.
