Easyjet plane returns abruptly to French airport for technical checks

An aeroplane that took off from a French airport performed an abrupt U-turn after failing to carry out a pre-flight technical inspection.

It happened on Monday (July 24) on an Easyjet flight between Paris Charles de Gaulle-Roissy (CDG) and Palermo, Sicily.

Departing on time at 12:50, it took only 20 minutes before the aircraft returned to the airport in the French capital.

“We must return to Charles de Gaulle because of an inspection that has not been carried out,” passengers were told, according to BFMTV.

“There are regular aeronautical inspections for safety. There are a lot of them. There is one that we had to do on this plane. Our apologies again for that.”

The below image from Flightradar24 - which provides online live-tracking of flights - shows the path of the Easyjet plane.

Credit: Flightradar24

Easyjet said that “the aircraft landed safely at Paris CDG” and that a mistake of this nature was “extremely rare” for the airline.

“The safety and well-being of our passengers and crews are Easyjet's top priority, and we operate our aircraft fleet in strict compliance with manufacturers' guidelines,” said the airline after the incident.

A replacement plane was found. It took off from CDG airport and arrived in Palermo three hours later than initially planned.

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