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A Liverpool-bound plane carrying 47 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing after its instruments failed.

The easyJet flight, from Belfast, reported a malfunction on its altimeters just after 0700 GMT on Tuesday.

The pilot held the Boeing 737 at the same height, before the equipment failure resolved itself.

However, as a precaution, he continued following the emergency procedure and landed the plane at its scheduled time of 0735 GMT.

Robin Tudor, business services manager at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, said the plane landed "normally and nobody was hurt.

"There was a discrepancy between the altimeter readings, but the problem rectified itself," he said.

"The pilot followed standard procedures by making an emergency landing.

"The passengers will have known what was happening as it is policy to keep them informed."

The emergency landing took place just two hours before firefighters walked out on a 48-hour strike at 0900 GMT.

However, Mr Tudor said the industrial action would have had no impact on airport safety.

He said: "We have our own fire service and they are fully trained.

"Municipal firefighters are only there to provide back-up, for example by ferrying water to us if we ran low.

"On a strike day we increase our own fire service personnel and bring out a large water tanker."

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