Source: www.birminghammail.co.uk

Etihad Airways passengers have spoken out over their terror after seeing smoke engulf the cabin on a flight to Abu Dhabi. The flight was forced to turn back to Manchester Airport in the North West after the traumatic scenes unfolded.

Breaking their silence over the incident, passengers of flight EY22 revealed they returned shortly after take off due to a technical fault. The pilot turned back to Manchester Airport after around 30 minutes in the air. It came after smoke billowed through the cabin following a noise at the rear of the plane.

One traveller said: “The plane was on the runway and then there was an explosion.

A spokesman for Etihad Airways said there was a technical issue with the ‘cabin pressurisation system’.

Passengers were put up in a hotel for the night and placed on a rescheduled flight on Tuesday morning.

A spokesman from Etihad said: “Etihad Airways confirms that flight EY22, Manchester to Abu Dhabi on 14 January returned to Manchester Airport shortly after take-off, due to a technical issue associated with the cabin pressurisation system.