BA flight forced to turn back over cracked window
British Airways said the plane landed safely at Gatwick and passengers were due to resume their journey.
BA flight forced to turn back over cracked window
A British Airways flight heading to Portugal was compelled to return to Gatwick Airport on Tuesday after a minor technical issue, said to involve a cracked window.
Flight BA2660 was on its way to Faro in the Algarve but diverted over north-western France so it could head back to London Gatwick.
AirNav Radar, a flight data provider, posted on X that "a passenger window is cracked. Flight deck going through checks before deciding were to divert".
A spokesperson for British Airways said the aircraft landed safely at Gatwick because of a "minor technical issue" and that passengers were expected to continue their journey.
"We have apologised to customers for the delay to their journey, and our teams are working hard to get their travel plans back on track," they said.
Airnav Radar said the BA Airbus A321 squawked the 7700 emergency code, which is used when mechanical or technical problems occur on board aircraft.
Last week, a BA flight bound for Chicago spent five hours circling over Ireland before turning back and landing at London Heathrow, where it had departed from.
The flight sent out an emergency alert and passengers said oxygen masks dropped in the cabin, along with turbulence. Tracking data showed it dropped rapidly from 37,000 feet to 9,000 feet.
And in August, Serbian national Ljubisa Karović's head and right shoulder were sucked out of the window on a Ryanair flight, leaving him "seriously injured and in shock".
Ryanair later said the window may have been damaged by a foreign object.