EasyJet flight declares mid-air emergency over UK

An easyJet flight from Glasgow to Amsterdam declared a mid-air emergency whilst flying over the North Sea.

The flight left Glasgow Airport at 1450 on Monday and was scheduled to land in Amsterdam at 1725pm.

However, while in the air, the crew squawked 7700. More on that below.

The aircraft landed safely and on-time.

A spokesperson said:

“easyJet can confirm that flight EJU7836 from Glasgow to Amsterdam yesterday afternoon experienced a technical issue on arrival into Amsterdam where the flight landed in accordance with operating procedures and passengers disembarked normally. The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is EasyJet’s highest priority, and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines.”

What is the significance of “Squawking 7700”?

Captain Hoke is a Boeing 757/767 captain for a package express airline and also runs the website AeroSavvy, he had this to say.

“Declaring an emergency means the crew determines they have an ‘urgency’ or ‘distress’ situation. “Urgency” means the crew is concerned about the safety of the flight and needs timely (but not necessarily immediate) assistance. A ‘distress’ condition means that the flight is in serious and/or imminent danger and requires immediate assistance”.