A British Airways plane flying from London to Chicago made an emergency return to Heathrow airport after its onboard systems reported a technical problem. The plane made a sharp descent of more than 8,700 meters and reported an emergency to controllers.
After diverting to London, the plane circled over the UK for around four hours to burn off the large amount of fuel and land safely. All passengers were returned to Heathrow unharmed.
„The plane landed safely after our highly trained pilots returned to Heathrow“ due to a technical problem“, British Airways said. The airline said it was working to arrange another flight for passengers travelling to Chicago. The cause of the emergency landing is not yet known, and British authorities will investigate the incident.
Police operation halts flights in Stuttgart
Meanwhile, air traffic at Stuttgart airport was temporarily suspended due to a police operation. The terminals were evacuated in the early afternoon, and arriving and departing flights were suspended.
After searching the affected area, police said there was no security threat. The airport has begun to gradually resume operations, and passenger checkpoints have reopened.
A spokesman for the federal police warned that all passengers would have to go through security checks again and that it could take several hours for the situation to return to normal. According to German authorities, air traffic was disrupted for approximately an hour and a half before being gradually restored.
Sources: focus-news.net, dariknews.bg, news.sky.com