THIS is the stomach-churning moment a plane was forced to abort landing in 80mph winds – before making a nerve-shredding second attempt.

Pilots battled to land the Aer Lingus propeller plane in punishing crosswinds at Birmingham airport this morning.

The flight from Dublin to Leeds-Bradford had been diverted because of Storm Pia.

Shocking footage showed winds buffeting the plane, which came to a virtual standstill in the air.

Its pilots were unable to straighten up its wheels, and were forced to abort landing.

During their second attempt at landing, crosswinds violently rocked the cabin.

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But the crew managed to get the wheels down at an angle to the runway in a bumpy but safe landing.

Shocking footage also showed a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Manchester abort its landing moments before its wheels touched down.

The Met Office has issued an urgent yellow warning for nearly all of Britain today – as Storm Pia sparks Christmas getaway chaos.

Strong winds will bluster across a large swathe of the country until 9pm today.

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Scotland, Northern Ireland, north Wales, northern England, the Midlands and East Anglia are all covered by the wind warning.

Road, train, air and ferry journeys will all take longer, with brief power cuts also expected.

Snaps taken this morning show delayed passengers queuing up at Manchester Airport's Terminal 1.

Met Office expert Paul Gundersen said: "Strong winds are likely to develop across a large area of the UK.

"We’ve issued a large yellow warning area where there’s a potential for some impacts.

"But gusts of 50-60mph are possible for large parts of central and northern areas of the UK.

"Exposed coasts and high ground could see gusts of 70-80mph at times, mainly across the far north of Scotland.

"There’s a chance this low pressure will continue to exert its influence into Friday."

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