Terrifying pictures show huge damage to front of Airbus which was hit by a bird strike after taking off from Spanish airport
This afternoon Iberia Flight IB579 was forced to land back in Madrid after it was reportedly struck by a large bird during takeoff.
Photos from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, the main air travel hub for Spain 's capital, showed the radome, the plane's nose, had suffered severe damage.
The material at the front had fallen away from the plane, an Airbus A321-253NY that was meant to fly to Paris.
In one photo, the offending bird that apparently cause the strike was seen in one of the plane's jets.
Data from FlightRadar24 showed the plane made a short loop above the area surrounding Madrid before landing back at the airport.
It landed just over an hour after it took off.
The Daily Mail has contacted Iberia for comment.
It is the latest in a series of setbacks to the aviation industry this week after major airports - including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham - were forced to suspend flights with thousands of passengers left stuck on the tarmac.
A technical issue suffered at the NATS Swanwick air traffic control centre grounded all London flights, sparking travel chaos.
Passengers heading off on their summer holidays took to social media to vent their frustration, with some posting pictures from grounded plane windows or telling the Daily Mail they had been rediverted to Brussels.
NATS said the issue was resolved but knock-delays will continue, with passengers advised to check with their airline.
A statement read: 'Our engineers have now restored the system that was affected this afternoon.
'We are in the process of resuming normal operations in the London area. We continue to work closely with airline and airport customers to minimise disruption.'
Departures across all airports have now resumed, NATS said, however the backlog of flights is expected to cause delays across the country for the next few hours.
'Our systems are fully operational and air traffic capacity is returning to normal,' it added. 'We are working with affected airlines and airports to clear the backlog safely.'
RyanAir's chief operating officer Neal McMahon called on NATS' chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign following the chaos - which marks the second time in two years the air traffic controller has seen a major outage.
More than 700,000 passengers suffered disruption when flights were grounded at UK airports on August 28 2023 when NATS suffered a technical glitch while processing a flight plan.
Mr McMahon said: 'It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe's continued mismanagement of Nats.
'Yet another ATC system failure has resulted in the closure of UK airspace meaning thousands of passengers' travel plans have been disrupted.
'It is clear that no lessons have been learnt since the Aug 2023 Nats system outage, and passengers continue to suffer as a result of Martin Rolfe's incompetence.
'If Nats CEO Martin Rolfe fails to resign on the back of this latest Nats system outage that has disrupted thousands of passengers yet again, then UK transport minister Heidi Alexander must act without delay to remove Martin Rolfe and deliver urgent reform of Nats' shambolic ATC service, so that airlines and passengers are no longer forced to endure these preventable delays caused by persistent Nats failures.'
One person on X reported a Heathrow bound flight was flying around Ben Nevis while unable to land safely.
Meanwhile, passenger Jane Ainsworth told the Daily Mail her flight from Kos back to Birmingham has been forced to land in Brussels.
Another frustrated flyer reported 'going nowhere' as they sat inside an airplane on the runway for more than 40 minutes.
'Going nowhere as no departures from @HeathrowAirport for the last 40 minutes. Apparently 'the radar isn't working'. @British_Airways crew being fab,' they wrote.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: 'Flights at Heathrow have resumed following a technical issue at the NATS Swanwick air traffic control centre. We are advising passengers to check with their airline before travelling. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.'
Gatwick Airport said on Wednesday afternoon that technical issues caused a complete halt to departures while the situation was being resolved.
'A technical issue impacting Nats is affecting all outbound flights across the UK,' the airport said on X.
'There are currently no departures from London Gatwick while the situation is being resolved.
'We are working with Nats to resume flights as quickly as possible. Inbound flights are still landing at the airport.
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