Pilot maneuvers plane to give passengers 'amazing' view of northern lights

An easyJet flight from Iceland to England made a quick detour to let passengers on both sides of the plane see the northern lights.

The easyJet flight 1806 made the loop on Monday night as it was traveling from Reykjavik to Manchester, the airline told ABC News in a statement.

"We are pleased that the captain on our flight from Reykjavik to Manchester yesterday evening was able to perform a controlled [maneuver] in order to allow passengers to witness an amazing display from the air of one of nature's greatest sights, the Aurora Borealis," easyJet told ABC News in a statement.

Adam Groves, a passenger on the flight, offered "big thanks" to the pilot and posted pictures of the northern lights on Monday on Twitter, saying that the pilot "did a 360 fly by mid-flight to make sure all passengers could see the incredible northern lights."

Auroras occur when atoms and molecules in Earth's atmosphere clash with a solar flare from the sun.

The rare northern lights display, usually seen in regions closer to the Arctic like Iceland and Scandinavia, appeared further south on Sunday night into early Monday morning for people living in the U.K.

According to the U.K.'s Meteorological Office, the astrological event painted skies pink and green in places as far south as North Uist, Scotland, North Wales, Cambridgeshire and Shropshire.

"Our crew will always go above and beyond for our customers and we're delighted to have been able to share this special view of the northern lights with them," the airline told ABC News.

ABC News' Sam Sweeney and Julia Jacobo contributed to this report.