Packed Jet2 flight heading for East Midlands Airport lands safely after declaring onboard emergency

A packed Jet2 holiday flight bound for East Midlands Airport has landed safely after declaring an onboard emergency.
The plane involved is a Jet2 flight.The plane involved is a Jet2 flight.
The plane involved is a Jet2 flight.

The flight, from Alicante to East Midlands, which was set to land at 1.25pm made an unscheduled landing at Gatwick.

The Boeing 737 issued a 7700 "squawk" - the code issued by aircraft in emergency situations over Northern France earlier today.

Flight EXS42F took off from Alicante at 11.30am, changed course over France and landed at Gatwick rather than East Midlands Airport.