Moment planes forced to abort landings in fierce Storm Agnes winds at Manchester Airport

Hair-raising video footage captures the moment passenger planes battled fierce Storm Agnes winds to touch-down and land at Manchester Airport.

The footage shows jets being buffeted in the air by swirling gales, with a number of planes forced into performing 'go arounds' as a result on Wednesday.

A go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down. It's a standard landing procedure to take a plane around for another go at approaching a runway. Pilots are often forced to use the procedure if they experience a late, sudden gust of wind, which conditions such as those on Wednesday brought.

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The footage - filmed by AviationUpclose and uploaded to its YouTube channel - came as the first named storm of the season led to wind speeds of 79mph in some parts of Britain.

Elsewhere, winds were recorded reaching speeds of 68mph in Aberdaron, Wales, 58mph in Glenanne, Northern Ireland, and 54mph in Camborne, Cornwall.

Agnes triggered a series of Met Office yellow weather warnings for wind and rain across the UK, with forecasts of damaging winds and stormy seas. Manchester escaped the worst of the storm, but high winds did hit home in the afternoon and into the evening.

The footage captures the skill of pilots approaching Manchester Airport, with a number opting not to land and climbing again.

AviationUpclose reported a number of 'crosswind landings'. They said on Wednesday: "The first named storm of the 2023 season, Storm Agnes, hit Ireland and the UK this