Passengers of a Thomsonfly service from Manchester to Tel Aviv were delayed for six hours on Tuesday because of a technical fault. This prevented passengers on the flight from Tel Aviv to Manchester from completing their return journey on Tuesday.

A spokesperson from Thomsonfly told the Jewish Tribune that the problem was detected as the aircraft was making its way to the runway for take off, resulting in some sparks from the engine.  The aircraft returned to its stand and the fire brigade were called out as a precaution.  Passengers disembarked and were given refreshment vouchers and another aircraft was deployed as quickly as possible. 

The return flight from Tel Aviv to Manchester on Tuesday night was affected by the cabin crew exceeding their legally permitted operating hours for that period.  The flight was rescheduled to depart on Wednesday though passengers were given overnight accommodation if they required it. 

This is the second such incident involving a Thompson flight to Israel. Last month a plane was turned back to Manchester an hour into its journey because of a technical problem. The airline launched its service to Tel Aviv last November.

(Dina Rosell – Jewish Tribune UK)