An emergency was declared on-board an Inverness flight to London Gatwick following a bird strike.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that a bird had struck the engine shortly after takeoff prompting safety concerns.
EasyJet flight U2864 made the call to return to the north airport and has now landed safely.
On its website, the airline apologised to passengers for the inconvenience caused “due to birds hitting your plane”.
Passengers had been expecting to arrive at Gatwick at around 4.39pm.
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