A PASSENGER jet had to make an emergency landing at Glasgow Airport after one of its engines failed.

The Boeing 757, operated by the national airline Icelandair, got into difficulty as it passed just south of Stornoway.

The plane, which had 170 passengers onboard, left Glasgow at lunchtime to fly to Iceland. A decision was made to return to the city and the jet was met by the emergency services.

Nobody was hurt in the incident and the passengers were taken to a nearby hotel.

A spokesman for Glasgow Airport said: "The plane took off shortly after 1.30pm, developed technical problems and had to return to Glasgow.

"It was met by emergency services as a precautionary measure but they were stood down and the passengers disembarked and were taken to a hotel.

"The airline put on another flight which was due to take off at 3am."

A passenger said the pilot pressed a wrong switch allowing his Mayday call to be relayed to everyone on board.

Christopher Helgason, a radio DJ with Rejkavik station Bylgjan FM, said: "The Mayday call was heard by us on board and did not go to the ground control at first.

"It was half an hour back to Glasgow and the landing was very smooth.