British Airways apologises as flight lands back at Heathrow after 9 hours in the air

A British Airways (BA) flight to the USA had to return to Heathrow Airport after experiencing technical issues, landing back at the London airport over nine hours after take-off. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was heading to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, when it was forced to turn around - having just crossed the Canadian border.

Flightradar24 reports that the aircraft was flying for nine-and-a half hours, crossing the Atlantic Ocean twice, before landing at Heathrow Airport, reports The Evening Standard. The plane flew 7,779km on the “flight to nowhere,” before the minor technical issue forced its return, although it wasn’t so serious that it warranted an emergency landing.

It safely returned to London Airport, where BA technicians were waiting to fix it. In a statement, the airline said: “The flight returned to London Heathrow as a precaution due to a minor technical issue. It landed safely and customers disembarked as normal.

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“We’ve apologised to our customers for the disruption to their journey.” Passengers were booked onto separate flights to the Texan airport, and any other missed connecting flights.

They were also instructed how to claim compensation and expenses. It comes just months after a separate BA flight to Prague from Heathrow was forced to return mid-journey “as a precaution.”

The passengers were eventually seen onto a different plane.

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