Flight to Belfast forced to divert mid-air after pilots declared emergency on board
A British Airways flight headed to Belfast was forced to divert the plane after pilots declared an emergency, resulting in a delay of three hours.
On Monday, the BA1410 service had taken off from London Heathrow at 8:05am when, around half an hour into the journey, the pilot sent out an urgent "squawk".
Due to worries about possible depressurisation, the aircraft circled for a short time before being rerouted to Manchester Airport. The passengers were transferred to a different plane and proceeded to Belfast without any additional issues, according to reports.
Pilots use their transponder to transmit an emergency "squawk" to notify air traffic control of an urgent issue.
The incident was reported initially on AirLive, an aviation news and updates website. As a result of the dedication and expertise of its diverse group of authors from around the world, the website has become one of the most trustworthy sources of aviation news ever.
Under the UK/EU flight delay compensation scheme, certain flights subject to EU/UK regulation are eligible for a certain amount of compensation. You must have arrived at your destination more than three hours late in order to qualify.
British Airways passengers may be eligible for compensation for flight cancellations or delays under certain circumstances. In general, compensation may be due if a flight is cancelled within 14 days of departure or is delayed by more than three hours and the airline is responsible for the disruption.
The length of the delay and the distance of the trip determine how much compensation is given, and passengers may also be eligible for reimbursements for costs they spent as a result of the disruption.
This incident comes after the airline announced it's set to to trial a new system that could change how passengers watch movies and shows on long flights
The trial, called Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), will allow passengers to stream all the usual in-flight entertainment from their seat-back screens straight to their phones, tablets, or laptops.
British Airways said that the trial will begin late July on a few long-haul flights departing from London Heathrow, notably on the airline's A380s, Boeing 787-9s, and the older 777-200s.
Photo: Getty
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