A British Airways flight (BA118) from Bengaluru (BLR) to London Heathrow (LHR) made a precautionary mid-air U-turn near Abu Dhabi on Saturday after the crew reported a technical issue.
The aircraft, a Boeing 777, departed Kempegowda International Airport at 7:40 AM IST, and after reaching airspace close to Abu Dhabi, it reversed course and returned to Bengaluru. The flight landed safely, and engineers conducted a full technical inspection at the airport.
The aircraft was later cleared for departure and resumed its journey at 2:30 PM. A British Airways spokesperson confirmed that the flight crew acted in accordance with standard safety procedures, emphasizing that passenger safety remains the airline’s top priority.
Passenger Satish Medapati, who was onboard, shared updates on social media platform ‘X’, mentioning a lack of timely communication from the airline but confirming there was no panic among travelers.
The incident occurred amid wider disruptions at London Heathrow Airport, where a May 21 power outage caused by a fire at a nearby substation had affected flight operations. Despite the disruption, British Airways maintained nearly 90% of scheduled flights on Saturday and aimed for normal operations by Sunday, according to updates shared by the airline.
In a similar incident last month, another British Airways Boeing 777 operating as Flight 216 from Washington, DC, to London, made an emergency landing in Boston following a suspected bird strike and smoke detection in the cabin.
The April 26 flight diverted to Boston Logan Airport and landed without injuries. Engineers inspected the aircraft, and it resumed its journey to London later that night. The FAA has opened an investigation into that incident.
These events highlight the critical role of proactive safety protocols in commercial aviation and underscore British Airways’ preparedness in handling mid-air contingencies.
