An EasyJet flight bound for Tenerife was forced to make an emergency landing with hundreds of British tourists on board. Flight U28033 issued a 7700 emergency code as it flew over France having left Gatwick Airport a short while before.

The emergency alarm was sounded at 8.40am after the plane suffered a “hydraulic failure”, according to Flight Emergency. A total of 244 passengers were on board the Airbus A321neo commercial plane.

A spokeswoman for Gatwick Airport said: “The aircraft has landed safely and no operational impact at the airport.”

The flight descended from its cruising level before turning around and heading back towards Gatwick, flight tracking sites showed.

It entered a holding pattern at 6,000ft to burn its fuel before landing, which is sometimes neccessary to lose weight or due to maintenance issues, MailOnline reports.

Airbus and EasyJet has been approached for comment via email.