A PLANE seen continuously circling above Blackburn today had an ‘operational fault’, an airline said.

The Jet2 flight from Manchester to Rhodes, which departed at 10.26am, was seen to be circling above Blackburn for almost an hour before returning to Manchester.

Jet2 has now confirmed that the plane was diverted back to Manchester as a precaution after it had experienced a fault.

A spokesman for Jet2 said: “Our Jet2.com flight from Manchester to Rhodes reported a small operational fault and was diverted back to base as a precautionary measure.

“The aircraft has landed safely and passengers will shortly be transferred onto a replacement aircraft.

“We apologise for the delay to the start of our customers' holidays but their safety is our absolute priority.”