Taoiseach’s flight to New York forced to return to Dublin due to bird strike

An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to New York carrying Taoiseach Micheál Martin was forced to turn around after take off and return to Dublin Airport after it struck a bird.

Mr Martin had been on the flight travelling to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

The flight left Dublin Airport late on Wednesday afternoon but shortly afterwards was required to turn around.

In a statement, Aer Lingus said the flight was “required to turn back when the aircraft experienced a bird strike shortly after take-off”.

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The airline said the flight “landed safely at Dublin Airport and all customers and crew safely disembarked”.

“We plan to operate the flight later this evening on a replacement aircraft. We apologise to customers impacted for the inconvenience,” it said.

The Taoiseach had been scheduled to attend a reception in New York on Wednesday night hosted by US president Joe Biden.