- Three British Airways flights had to make U-turns on Saturday, delaying hundreds of passengers.
- One diversion was due to a problem with the traffic collision avoidance system, according to Airlinerwatch.
- The Independent estimated that the airline may have to pay out $800,000 in compensation.
Three British Airways flights had to turn back around on Saturday, causing hundreds of passengers to endure delays of up to 21 hours.
The Independent predicts that the UK’s flag carrier could be required to compensate up to $800,000. This estimate is based on the assumption that 700 departing passengers and the same number of arrivals were affected.
The first flight to encounter issues was an afternoon flight from London Heathrow Airport to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Just two hours into the six-hour journey, BA263 had to turn back and return to London. This resulted in a four-hour flight to nowhere, as reported by data from Flightradar24.
The Independent states that the turnaround occurred due to a problem with the traffic collision avoidance system of the Boeing 777, which is necessary for entering Saudi airspace.
Passengers were provided accommodation in London hotels overnight, with a replacement flight reaching Riyadh 21 hours later than originally planned, according to The Independent.
Shortly after the first flight took off, another flight bound for Corsica, France had to turn back to London after being airborne for more than halfway of the two-hour journey. Data from Flightradar24 confirms this.
The passengers of this flight also had to wait until the next day to reach their destination, experiencing a 20-hour delay, as reported by The Independent.
Additionally, a flight to Boston departed from Heathrow around 5 p.m., but had to turn back after only 16 minutes in the air due to airport congestion. The plane circled south of London before landing again, according to Flightradar24.
This disruption happened less than a week after the malfunction of the UK’s air traffic control system at the end of a holiday weekend.
Insider’s request for comment from British Airways has not been answered at the time of writing.
A spokesperson for the airline told The Independent: “We sincerely apologize for the delay in our customers’ journeys. We would never operate a flight unless it was deemed safe to do so.”
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