EasyJet Pilot Circles Plane To Show Passengers Spectacular Northern Lights

An EasyJet pilot made a 360-degree turn to treat passengers to an "incredible" view of the northern lights. According to the BBC, the plane was flying from Reykjavik in Iceland to Manchester as aurora borealis lit up skies across the UK in a rare display. The stunning view of the natural phenomenon was made possible by transitory cloud breaks in the night sky. The photos were captured by one of the passengers, Adam Groves, who posted them on Twitter where the images went viral.

The pictures show green, purple and pink streaks across the night sky.

"Big thanks to the @easyJet pilot of EZY1806 from Reykjavik to Manchester who did a 360 fly by mid flight to make sure all passengers could see the incredible Northern Lights," Mr Groves said in his tweet.

Big thanks to the @easyJet pilot of EZY1806 from Reykjavik to Manchester who did a 360 fly by mid flight to make sure all passengers could see the incredible Northern Lights 🤩 pic.twitter.com/A4CHi9Hqgo

— Adam Groves (@APTGroves) February 27, 2023

Mr Groves told the BBC that he and his fiancee Jasmine Mapp were on the right-hand side of the plane, which took off from Reykjavik.

"We were hoping to see them while we were out there but we didn't get the chance. We took off and halfway into the flight the pilot turned all the lights off and the view could be seen out the left window. But we were sitting on the right-hand side and after a few minutes the pilot switched back and did a 360 loop around for everyone to see," the man said.

FlightRadar24, which tracks the flight paths and posts them on Twitter, showed the route of the EasyJet plane over the ocean and the exact spot where it made the turn in the air.

An @easyJet flight just made a 360 turn over the North Sea. The Northern Lights are very strong tonight as well, so the reason was probably to allow passengers on both sides of the aircraft to see the fantastic #AuroraBorealis
https://t.co/IVJ81cqRKM pic.twitter.com/5cY8Hr2tPZ

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 27, 2023

One user was curious to know if pilots need permission for such type of manoeuvres. "Pilots will inform ATC [air traffic control] to ensure it is safe to perform," FlightRadar24 replied.

The northern lights were visible in parts of southern England, such as Kent and Cornwall on Sunday evening, but the best place for sightings was northern Scotland.