easyJet Airbus A319 Declares Emergency After Bird Strike, Diverts to Liverpool

easyJet flight U2415 was bound for Southampton on Sunday, 18 October 2026, but its passengers landed in Liverpool instead. The Airbus A319 encountered birds shortly after leaving Glasgow, prompting the crew to declare an emergency and divert to Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The landing was safe; the rest of the journey would have to be rearranged.

The aircraft was Airbus A319 G-EZFI, operating under callsign EZY12NL. AirNav Radar records a 9:15 a.m. departure from Glasgow and a 10:14 a.m. arrival at Liverpool, both British local time. Some initial press reports gave different times, so these figures are attributed to the tracking service rather than presented as an official airline timeline.

The bird strike raised an important technical question: what condition was the aircraft in? AIRLIVE reported high vibration indications from the right-hand engine. Such an indication warrants attention, but it does not establish an engine failure or identify physical damage. The sources reviewed do not include published inspection findings showing what happened to G-EZFI after it landed.

During the diversion, the pilots selected transponder code 7700, signalling an emergency to air traffic control and allowing the flight to receive priority handling. The code does not imply the aircraft was out of control. Following a bird strike and an abnormal engine indication, landing at a suitable nearby airport avoids extending the flight before the aircraft can be checked by engineers.

For passengers, Liverpool was an unscheduled stop rather than their destination. British reporting quoting easyJet said a replacement service was due to depart at 10:45 a.m. and reach Southampton at 11:49 a.m.. Those were scheduled times, not a confirmed record of the onward journey. As travellers awaited the rest of their trip, G-EZFI faced technical checks before returning to service.

Related coverage: easyJet’s disruption in Italy, a separate event.