What was supposed to be a straightforward evening flight to the Mediterranean sunshine turned into an hour of uncertainty for passengers aboard TUI Flight BY6754 on September 28. Shortly after the Boeing 737-800 lifted off from Cardiff Airport at 4:28 p.m. local time, something went wrong. The aircraft, bound for Paphos, Cyprus, never made it past the Welsh coastline before crew declared an in-flight emergency and redirected to Birmingham Airport, where all aboard landed safely 62 minutes later.
When the Cabin Started Smelling Like Burning
Dave Preece, a 56-year-old passenger from Tycroes in Carmarthenshire, remembers the exact moment concern spread through the cabin. “There was silence, people looking at each other and thinking ‘what is going on here,'” he told BBC News. The left side of the aircraft began vibrating, followed by an unsettling rumbling noise. Then came the burning smell. As the Boeing 737 circled low over South Wales at just 3,750 feet, confused passengers could see recognizable landmarks through their windows, including the distinctive Tata Steel works in Port Talbot. According to Preece, the uncertainty was worse than any specific fear. “There was a feeling something had gone wrong but no explanation given so for a lot of people that was the most scary part,” he explained.
Emergency Protocols and an Unplanned Route
Flight tracking data from FlightAware reveals the extraordinary path TUI Flight BY6754 took that afternoon. After circling west of Cardiff at 1,143 meters altitude, the crew climbed to 3,658 meters and transmitted emergency transponder code 7700, the international signal for a general emergency. The aircraft flew 305 miles to reach Birmingham despite the direct distance measuring just 100 miles, executing multiple holding patterns to burn fuel before attempting a landing with a heavier-than-optimal aircraft weight. The precision required for this type of emergency procedure became clear when Birmingham Airport suspended all normal operations for approximately 30 minutes to accommodate the incoming flight.
Birmingham Responds
Four fire appliances and multiple emergency vehicles positioned themselves along runway 33 as the Boeing 737 approached Birmingham at 5:30 p.m. The airport’s emergency protocols, designed for exactly these scenarios, deployed seamlessly. “In line with normal procedures the airport’s Fire Service met the aircraft on arrival. It landed safely and taxied to the apron,” a Birmingham Airport spokesperson confirmed. By 5:40 p.m., all passengers and crew had disembarked without injury. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-8K5 manufactured in 2012 and registered as G-TAWY, would require full inspection before returning to service.
Holiday Plans Disrupted, Questions Emerge
The diverted passengers had been scheduled to arrive in Paphos at 8:45 p.m. that evening, but instead found themselves at a Midlands airport with their Mediterranean holiday delayed by hours. TUI Airways arranged alternative travel to get passengers to Cyprus, though the emergency caused substantial disruptions to vacation plans. Cardiff Airport emphasized that passenger safety remained their top priority throughout the incident, while Aviation Safety Network officially documented the event as a bird strike during departure.
The Unanswered Question
Here’s where the story takes an unusual turn. TUI Airways maintains there was no mechanical failure. “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,” a company spokesperson stated. Yet passenger Dave Preece recalls the captain making an announcement about engine failure during the flight, leaving passengers “in shock.” Neither TUI nor Cardiff Airport has addressed why passenger accounts describe hearing an engine failure announcement while the airline’s official explanation cites only a bird strike. That discrepancy remains unexplained weeks after the TUI Flight BY6754 emergency landing brought everyone safely to the ground.
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