BA aircraft returned to Heathrow after emergency technical issue

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A British Airways flight, and the map of the U-turn (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

A British Airways flight was forced to do a U-turn and come back to Heathrow due to technical problems this evening.

Britain’s biggest airport told City A.M. that BA348 from London to Nice landed back at Heathrow just 40-minutes after take-off, and was put on stand-by.

It added that emergency services were attending on scene as a precaution, and all passengers were safe, with no injuries reported.

When asked for comment, British Airways said the aircraft came back after a minor technical issue and passengers got off. It added that they will try to get flyers back on the move as soon as possible.

Despite both the airline and airport saying it was a minor issue, the ‘@NewsJunkieBreak’ Twitter account claimed that pilots “smelt strange fumes and placed on their oxygen masks.”

The account also claimed emergency services were scanning the plane “using gas detectors and thermal imaging cameras”.

BA told City A.M.: “The aircraft landed normally after returning to Heathrow following reports of a technical issue. The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority.”

Heathrow said the incident has now been stood down.

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