A Glasgow-bound flight from Tenerife was forced to make an emergency landing colliding with a bird on take-off. 

The Jet2 service LS129 was leaving from the island's Sur Reina Sofía airport at around 6pm on Wednesday afternoon when the incident occurred. 

Aircraft hitting birds is known as ‘bird strike’ in the industry, and is relatively uncommon. Staff are employed at airports to keep runways clear of wandering avians.  

READ MORE: Jet2 flight declares emergency whilst on descent

The Boeing 737 airliner jet plane had to return to the airport, the Scottish Sun reports. 

The Herald:

It was due to land in Scotland at around 7.30pm UK time but was delayed while the plane was checked by ground crews.  

Air staff on board took the decision to return to its departure point as a safety precaution. 

READ MORE: Jet2 flight in emergency landing after smoke spotted

They circled in the air to reduce the aircraft’s weight before landing. 

The flight was kept on the runway for four hours before it was allowed to return holidaymakers back to Glasgow. 

Flight tracker FlightRader24 showed the Boeing 737 aircraft circling around Tenerife before landing.