Man City in plane scare on way home from Portugal as high winds force them to divert to Liverpool

Manchester City had to take an unexpected detour and land in Liverpool on Wednesday after high winds scuppered a safe landing in Manchester.

City were travelling back to England following their 5-0 last-16 first-leg win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League the night before.

However, as they descended over Manchester it had to circle over the city three times before it was diverted to Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Video footage has emerged of the incident, highlighting the seriousness of the situation.

Footage has emerged of Man City’s plane struggling to land in Manchester on Wednesday

City’s aircraft was hoping to land back in Manchester having flown from Lisbon that afternoon

However, those plans were scuppered due to the high winds with gusts of wind up to 40 knots

Dealing with gusting winds of up to 40 knots, the City plane found itself in very turbulent conditions as it tried to land in Manchester.

The Titan Airways Boeing 757 aircraft can be seen almost at a standstill in flight as it tries to combat the elements with smoky bursts of thrust able to keep it stable initially. 

However, as they tried to take the final approach it was decided the best course of action was to fly to Liverpool instead.  

City took to Twitter on Wednesday to confirm that first-team squad landed safely.

‘We can confirm the plane transporting the first team home from Lisbon has landed safely in Liverpool, after high winds forced a diversion from Manchester.’

Manchester City had to divert their flight back from Lisbon on Wednesday to Liverpool

City’s plane circled Manchester three times before they decided to land in Liverpool

Thankfully Pep Guardiola’s side landed back in England without a hitch after their diversion

Liverpool Airport also confirmed the news: ‘Great to safely welcome Manchester City to the football capital of England this afternoon, after their flight was diverted from their home airport due to high winds.’

As reported this week, Manchester is currently dealing with Storm Dudley which hit the UK on Wednesday.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning from 3pm on Wednesday until 6am on Thursday.

They also warned that road and rail services may be affected due to the strong winds, with longer journey times and cancellations possible.

To emphasise it further, wind speeds across the region will be averaging between 40 to 50MPH during the storm.

Bernardo Silva scored two as City won 5-0 at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League last 16