The 51-year-old musician was on an Aegean Airlines Airbus A320 with his wife and 156 other people flying from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Barcelona on Monday.

The flight declared a general emergency as it passed over Italy while en route to Spain, according to Aviation Source News.

The aircraft was then diverted to Naples International Airport as the nature of the emergency remained unclear.

The musician said passengers were terrified as masks dropped without warning.

'We were both crying'

Speaking to The Sun, Hawkes said: "We thought we were going down. Our ears hurt and babies were crying. The pilot came over the loudspeaker and said 'emergency descent - brace'.

"One of the stewardesses was in a foetal position on the floor trying to get a mask on while also trying to talk to us over the intercom.

"The plane was rattling and banked so steeply we looked out and could see the sea. We thought we were going into the water. Krissy and I looked at each other and hugged."

The father of three said he left voice messages on his phone to the family group out of fear that he and his wife would not make it.

He added: "We left a voice message on the family WhatsApp group. We were both crying and told the kids how proud we were of them and how much we loved them.

"There was no other information. The stewards were crying and everyone around us was hysterical. Then suddenly the plane stopped rattling and the descent slowed."

After the stewardess announced an emergency landing, Mr Hawkes said: "Everyone was terrified."

He added: "People had their arms and legs braced against the seat in front of them. In the end, the landing was okay, if a bit bumpy."

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Hawkes said passengers cheered loudly after the plane landed safely and also shared his gratitude on Twitter for the pilot that managed to get everyone down safely.

The singer said the pilot was a "hero" and added: "All the crew were great, even the stewardess who had a moment.

"And thankfully we managed to delete the WhatsApp message when we landed before any of them listened to it."

He tweeted a picture of himself with the pilot, captioned: "Thank you to all that kept their heads cool, especially #captainfantastic for landing our plane safely today.

"This was not what we expected today, but it's made us appreciate life and those we love just that little bit more."