There was a large emergency presence last night at Cardiff airport after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing.

A UPS plane which had travelled from Philadelphia was due to land at London Stanstead but instead was forced to divert to Cardiff airport at around 9pm yesterday.

The airport authority is to conduct its own investigation into the incident.

The Welsh Ambulance Service have confirmed that they sent two emergency ambulances to the scene and the airports emergency fire team worked with the crew onboard the cargo aircraft.

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called yesterday (20 August) at around 20:57 to reports of an incident at Cardiff International Airport.

“We sent two emergency ambulances, one duty operations manager and our hazardous area response team to the scene. We were not required to convey any patients to hospital.”

South Wales Argus: The plane was spotted making an emergency landing The plane was spotted making an emergency landing (Image: Leigh Moss)

South Wales Police who also attended confirmed that the plane landed without an incident.

A spokesperson for South Wales Police said; We were called shortly before 8.55pm on Sunday following a report of an aeroplane making an emergency landing at Cardiff Airport. 

“Officers attended the location along with emergency service colleagues. The plane landed without incident. 

“The airport authority is conducting its own investigation into the incident.”

UPS said the crew detected an 'uunsual' odour.

A spokesperson for UPS said: “Our crew detected an unusual odour and diverted out of an abundance of caution to Cardiff. The aircraft was inspected and has returned to service.”

The aircraft is due to depart today, according to Cardiff Airport.

A spokesperson for Cardiff Airport said: “Yes, we accepted a divert emergency landing (cargo aircraft), but all crew on board were safe and our emergency fire team worked with the crew. I believe the aircraft is due to depart again today.”