British Airways flight destined for Dusseldorf lands in Edinburgh by mistake

A British Airways flight destined for Dusseldorf in Germany mistakenly landed in Edinburgh on Monday after flight plan paperwork was filed incorrectly.

Passengers on the flight only realised the error had been made when they heard the “welcome to Edinburgh” announcement after the plane had landed.

One woman on the flight said passengers on board were asked to raise their hands if they wanted to travel to Dusselfdorf.

Sophie Cooke, 24, told the BBC that everyone raised their hands.

Ms Cooke, a management consultant who travels to Dusseldorf every week, said:

"The pilot said he had no idea how it had happened. He said it had never happened before and that the crew was trying to work out what we could do."

Sophie said the plane sat on the tarmac at Edinburgh for two-and-a-half hours, before flying onto Düsseldorf.

"It became very frustrating. The toilets were blocked and they ran out of snacks. It was also really stuffy," she said.

One passenger, Son Tran, tweeted: “British Airways can you please explain how can my morning flight taking off from LCY to Dusseldorf land in Edinburgh?

“While an interesting concept, I don't think anyone on board has signed up for this mystery travel lottery…”

After BA responded the flight had been diverted, Mr Tran said: “This feels like an honest mistake rather than a diversion. The crew was convinced of the Edinburgh flight path from the get-go…”

A BA spokeswoman said German firm WDL Aviation ran the flight for BA as part of a leasing deal.

“We are working with WDL Aviation, who operated this flight on behalf of British Airways, to establish why the incorrect flight plan was filed,” the spokeswoman said.

“We have apologised to customers for this interruption to their journey and will be contacting them all individually.”

A spokesman for WDL told the Standard: We are working closely with the authorities to investigate how the obviously unfortunate mix-up of flight schedules could occur.

“At no time has the safety of passengers been compromised.

“We flew the passengers on the flight with number BA3271 to Düsseldorf after the involuntary stopover in Edinburgh.”