A United Airlines flight declared an emergency moments after taking off from London Heathrow.

The passenger jet departed the UK’s busiest airport shortly after 4pm on Thursday, bound for Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, US.

But the eight-hour journey was cut short just minutes into the flight.

Flight UA941 declared an emergency while flying 32,000 feet over Manchester, transmitting squawk code 7700 - the international code for a general emergency.

According to aviation outlet Air Live, “a technical issue” was cited as the reason for the emergency signal.

The Boeing 767 jet was initially set to dump around 20 tonnes of fuel to lower its landing weight, however this decision was reportedly abandoned and the aircraft returned to Heathrow for an expedited landing.

The aircraft landed safely at 6pm and was met by emergency services and ground crew.

The Standard has contacted United Airlines for further information.