Two flights departing from the Canary Islands were forced to return to their departure airports after reporting technical issues mid-ascent. In both cases, the flight crews requested holding patterns to burn fuel and reduce weight before landing safely back on the islands.
The first incident occurred on Friday afternoon when SAS flight SK7680 leaving Fuerteventura for Stockholm reported a warning light for a pressurisation system issue as it began ascending to cruising altitude.
Air traffic controllers authorised the aircraft to descend to flight level 100 and perform a right-hand turn to initially return to its departure airport.
To land safely, the pilot needed to burn excess fuel, as the Airbus A320 does not have the capability to dump fuel quickly, and was instructed to circle south of the airport. After one and a half hours the decision was made to divert the aircraft to Tenerife South Airport, where it was given a direct approach to runway 25 and landed without incident.
On Saturday morning, a second flight departing Gran Canaria for Gothenburg reported a technical issue while climbing to cruising altitude. The crew of Norwegian Airlines flight number NSZ5704 requested to return to the airport, initiating holding patterns to assess the situation and reduce weight before landing.
The aircraft was cleared for a right-hand turn and held at 5,000 feet southeast of the airport. Once the crew confirmed that the situation was under control, air traffic controllers positioned the plane for a direct approach to runway 03L, where it landed safely and cleared the runway without disruption.
Both flights were assisted by air traffic controllers throughout the manoeuvres, and neither incident affected the overall airport operations.
