The plane was diverted back to its departing airport following the incident where it was checked out by engineers
10:43, 09 Feb 2026Updated 10:58, 09 Feb 2026
A EasyJet aircraft (Image: Getty)
A Belfast-bound flight was forced to turn back to Amsterdam after a bird strike incident on Sunday, the airline has confirmed.
EasyJet flight number 3052/U23052 circled back to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, landing about 20 minutes after taking off at 6.09pm last night. The return of the aircraft to Schiphol Airport was a result of a bird strike, and the Airbus A320 Neo aircraft completed a loop over the ocean before heading inland to it’s departure location.
An update at the time from EasyJet read: “We’re sorry that your flight has been returned to Amsterdam. This is because the plane needs to be inspected by our engineers following a bird strike.
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“This can take between 30 minutes to two hours and we’ll keep you updated as soon as we know more. The safety of you and our crew is our highest priority and we thank you for your patience.”
Bird strikes are a common occurrence and a regular hazard for air travel with thousands of incidents reported from around the world annually.
The aircraft was diverted back to Amsterdam after a bird strike(Image: Flight Radar 24)
A later update provided by the company yesterday read: “There has been an additional delay because the plane that was scheduled for your flight today experienced a bird strike. Because the issue could not be resolved, we’ve decided to arrange a new plane to fly you to your destination today.
“The disruption to your flight is outside of our control and is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance.”
The latest information indicates that EasyJet flight 3052 is due to take-off from Amsterdam this afternoon, with a scheduled departure time of 1pm.
EasyJet has been approached for an updated comment.
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