Plane had to make a 650-mile diversion to pick up a crew member for another flight, adding more than 2 hours to the journey

A plane with hundreds of passengers on board made a 650 mile diversion to pick up an additional crew member.

A flight from England to Greece was stopped in Northern Ireland to pick up a replacement crew member.

It was reported by Simple Flying.

The flight data shows the plane leaving Norfolk and heading to the Mediterranean island before returning to Norfolk.

There is a detour of about 650 miles between the two destinations.

It took the flight 2 hours and 17 minutes to land.

"We fully understand customers' frustration due to the delay of flight TOM5528 fromNorwich to Corfu on 19th August," said a Tui spokesman.

The flight had to make a short stop in Northern Ireland to get a replacement crew member.

It was the second time in a week that a flight had to make an emergency landing, with another flight stopping in Northern Ireland to pick up a crew member.

After many were laid off or took voluntary redundancy during the Pandemic, airlines are struggling to replace them, with demand returning with ease.

According to Simple Flying, the plane is leased from Canada's Sunwing Airlines. Staffing issues at smaller airports in the east of England are worsened by the fact that Tui pilots are not allowed to fly their planes.

The flight was delayed due to technical issues.

According to analysts, the underlying cause of travel chaos this summer is the shortage of aviation worker. Thousands of delays experienced in recent months have caused airlines to try to hire 10,000 workers.