A transatlantic flight from Germany to the USA was forced to perform an emergency landing at Glasgow Airport on Sunday.

American Airlines flight 71 had departed Frankfurt Airport around 11am this morning (UK time) bound for Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in Texas. 

Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft diverting to Glasgow after declaring a 'Squawk 7700' emergency as it flew over Orkney at an altitude of 35,000 ft. 

The plane then landed safely around 40 minutes later at Glasgow Airport at approximately 1:25pm. 

American Airlines confirmed that the diversion was due to a "possible mechanical issue". 

A spokesman for American Airlines told The Herald: "American Airlines flight 71 from Frankfurt (FRA) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) diverted to Glasgow International Airport (GLA) in Scotland, due to a possible mechanical issue.

"The aircraft landed safely and taxied to the gate.

"Our maintenance team is evaluating the aircraft. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans, and we apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. Our team is working to get passengers to Dallas/Fort Worth as soon as possible."