Updated 3.30pm

AN AER LINGUS flight from Naples to Dublin was forced to turn back today, after pigeons flew into one of the plane’s engines shortly after take-off.

An Aer Lingus spokesperson told TheJournal.ie that flight EI451 had just taken off from the southern Italian city when it was hit by the flock of birds.

The flight had taken off just after midday and was due to arrive back in Dublin before 3pm.

The spokesperson said: “Aer Lingus flight EI 451 took off from Naples bound for Dublin, with 148 guests and 7 crew members on board, at 12:33 (local time) today.

As a precautionary measure the flight returned to Naples and landed safely at 13:14 (local time). The aircraft is now receiving maintenance attention at Naples.

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Stan Ryan, a passenger aboard the flight told TheJournal.ie that they’d only been flying for about 20 minutes before the plane turned back.

I looked out the window and saw Capri. A few minutes later, I was seeing it again.

From where Ryan was sitting, he had not been aware of what happened until after they had landed. The passengers have been informed that a new plane was being sent out which is due to take off at 9.15pm local time this evening.

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