An easyJet flight that was en route from Edinburgh to the Canary Islands had to be redirected to London due to an undisclosed “welfare issue” that occurred on board.
Flight EZY3201, originally scheduled to land at Tenerife South Airport, took off from Edinburgh Airport at 3:35 pm on Wednesday. However, the Airbus A320 was rerouted to Gatwick Airport after the welfare-related incident, instead of its intended destination in Tenerife.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicated that the aircraft altered its course while flying over Brittany in north-west France, diverting towards London. The plane landed safely at Gatwick Airport shortly after 5:30 pm, as reported by the Daily Record.
Although easyJet confirmed the diversion was due to a “welfare issue,” no specific details were provided. Notably, the flight crew did not issue a squawk 7700 code, typically used to signal a general emergency situation.
In a message to passengers, easyJet expressed regret for the diversion, citing it as an event beyond their control and deemed an extraordinary circumstance. The airline assured passengers that they planned to refuel and resume the journey to Tenerife as soon as possible, with an expected departure time from Gatwick around 9:45 pm and an estimated arrival in Tenerife at approximately 2:30 am local time.