A Eurowings flight bound for Germany was forced to return to Malaga Airport on Saturday.
The plane had departed Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport for Stuttgart when the it emerged the landing gear may have been blocked.
According to Spanish air traffic controllers, the pilots declared a Pan-Pan emergency shortly after departure and requested permission to return to Malaga.
A Pan-Pan call indicates an urgent situation requiring priority assistance, but unlike a Mayday call, it does not mean there is an immediate threat to the aircraft or those on board.
Controllers cleared runway 12 for the returning aircraft while moving other traffic onto runway 13.
The precaution meant that if the Eurowings aircraft became stranded on the runway after landing, the airport would still be able to handle both arrivals and departures using its other runway.
However, operating with runway 13 alone required controllers to increase the spacing between incoming aircraft, with some flights placed into holding patterns.
Once the Eurowings crew was ready to land, controllers positioned the aircraft for a direct approach to runway 12.
It then landed safely and cleared the runway without incident.
Airport staff subsequently inspected the runway and, after confirming that everything was in order, Malaga Airport returned to normal operations using both runways.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
