British Airways passengers have 'nine-hour flight to nowhere' after u-turn

British Airways passengers have endured a "nine-hour flight to nowhere" after a plane returned to London Heathrow within miles of destination. The incident unfolded on Tuesday June 11 with holidaymakers suffering a heartbreaking day.

A spokesperson from BA said in a statement: "The flight returned to London Heathrow as a precaution due to a minor technical issue. It landed safely and customers disembarked as normal. We’ve apologised to our customers for the disruption to their journey."

The BA flight from the UK to North America landed back in London - travelling 7,700 km and u-turning en route to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The flight was in the air for just over nine-and-a-half hours crossing the Atlantic Ocean twice.

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All passengers were rebooked onto alternative flights to Houston, including any missed connecting flights in the US, reports The Standard. The minor technical issue remainsa mystery, with no further details forthcoming from the airline.

BA's policy states: "If you're delayed at your final destination by more than 3 hours and that delay arises from causes within our control (rather than extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided by all reasonable measures); or if we inform you of a cancellation less than 14 days before the planned departure date that arises from causes within our control (rather than extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided by all reasonable measures)."

That is unless BA "informs you of the cancellation between 7 and 13 days before the scheduled time of departure and offer an alternative route that allows you to depart no more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than four hours after the scheduled time of arrival."

It also won't compensate if "we inform you of the cancellation less than 7 days before the scheduled time of departure and offer an alternative route that allows you to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival."