A Jet2 flight from Birmingham gave passengers and spotters an unexpected sight on Sunday 31 May when the aircraft pulled out of its landing at Lanzarote Airport at the last moment, climbed back into the sky, and circled round for a second attempt that touched down without issue. Footage of the go-around was filmed from the perimeter and has since spread quickly online.
The flight was operating Jet2's regular Birmingham service to Lanzarote, one of the airline's busiest routes into César Manrique Airport. The aircraft was on final approach, gear down and seconds from the runway, when the engines suddenly powered up and the nose lifted. The plane climbed away, rejoined the approach pattern and landed safely on the next try.
What Happened on the Approach
In the video you can see the aircraft coming in at a normal angle, low and stable, before it abruptly pulls up and starts climbing hard. For anyone watching from the ground it looks dramatic. For anyone on board, the experience would have been a sudden roar of engine noise, the seat pushing into their back as the plane accelerated, and the unfamiliar feeling of climbing again when they were expecting to be on the ground in seconds.
Pilots will tell you a go-around is one of the most rehearsed manoeuvres they do. It comes up regularly in simulator training, every six months at minimum, and they're expected to fire one off the moment anything isn't quite right. The whole point of the exercise is to give the crew a clean way out of an approach that isn't working, rather than trying to muscle the aircraft onto the runway when conditions have shifted.
Why Pilots Pull Out of a Landing
Plenty of things can trigger one. A gust of wind at the wrong moment, the aircraft drifting off the centreline, descent rate that's a touch too high, traffic still on the runway from the flight before, a sudden drop in visibility, or just a captain's gut feeling that the approach isn't stabilised enough. Sometimes it's air traffic control telling them to go around because of a problem on the ground. Sometimes the aircraft itself flags up something that needs a second look.
Whatever the cause, the procedure is the same every time. Power on, climb away, get the gear up, set up for another approach. No drama, no shouting, just the next item on a checklist the crew has run hundreds of times.
Why Lanzarote Can Be a Tricky Approach
Pilots who fly into César Manrique regularly will tell you the airport has a personality. It sits on a narrow coastal strip with volcanic terrain on one side and the Atlantic on the other, and the wind that makes Lanzarote a paradise for windsurfers and a nightmare for triathlon cyclists also makes the final mile or so of an approach more interesting than at a sheltered inland airfield. Most days the wind is steady, the visibility is excellent, and aircraft come in like they're on rails. Other days the trade winds pick up, the gusts get unpredictable, and crews have to work harder for a smooth touchdown.
Spotters know all this, which is why the airport has become one of the more popular places in the Canaries to set up with a camera. Go-arounds aren't an everyday event, but they happen often enough that the regulars know to be ready when the wind starts picking up.
Not an Emergency, Just Good Airmanship
The instinct when you see a video like this is to assume something went seriously wrong. It didn't. A go-around is the opposite of an emergency. It's what happens when the crew decides the safest thing to do is try again, and the industry treats it as exactly the kind of decision pilots are paid to make.
The pilots involved did their job. The aircraft landed safely a few minutes later. Passengers got off, the bags came down the belt, and most of the people on board probably ended up at their hotel pool by mid-afternoon with a story to tell.
Lanzarote Airport in 2026
The footage comes during one of the busiest stretches of the year at Lanzarote Airport, which handled close to nine million passengers in 2025 and remains one of the most important holiday gateways in Europe. Jet2 is one of the larger UK carriers serving the island, with regular flights from Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, East Midlands, Bristol, Edinburgh and beyond throughout the summer.
If you've ever stood near the airport fence watching planes come in low over the lava fields, you'll know why aviation photographers love it. The volcanic backdrop, the sea on the far side of the runway, the wind playing havoc with approach angles, all combine to produce some of the more dramatic landing footage on the European network. Sunday's clip is the latest in a long line.
If You Ever Experience One Yourself
Worth knowing for anyone flying into the island. If your own pilot pulls a go-around on the way in, stay seated, keep your belt on, and listen for the cabin crew's update. They'll come on the speakers within a minute or two to explain what just happened and what's next. Nine times out of ten the second approach is fine and you'll be at the gate not long after. Trust the people up front. They've practised this more times than they can count.
The full video of Sunday's go-around is up on YouTube and is worth a watch if you want to see how it looks from outside the cockpit.
