British Airways passengers' fury as nine-hour 'flight to nowhere' turns back mid-air

Hundreds of passengers on a British Airways flight endured a fruitless nine-hour journey after the aircraft, halfway to Costa Rica from London, had to return to Gatwick Airport due to a technical problem. The Boeing 777, designed for over 300 travellers, had left London heading for San Jose on Tuesday morning but failed to complete its intended trip.

Despite setting off around 30 minutes later than planned, Flightradar24 recorded that roughly five hours into the flight, the plane made an unexpected turn back across the Atlantic. Passengers should have been enjoying the warm climate after a typical 10-hour flight; instead, they were back where they started some nine hours later.

A passenger vented their frustrations online: "Flew halfway to Costa Rica and @BritishAirways have decided to turn us around because apparently all of the water has leaked out of the aircraft."

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Without any clear resolution, they added, "On the way back to London with no word of compensation or another flight we can board when we land. Mess!!! ".

The atmosphere was reportedly tense on the return leg, as one passenger noted: "The mood was so bad on the plane when it became apparent we spent over eight hours flying from Gatwick to Gatwick."

In response to the mishap, British Airways gave a statement to Business Insider saying, "We're sorry for the delay in our customers' travel plans after their aircraft experienced a minor technical issue."

BA stated: "Our teams looked after our customers during the delay and worked hard to get them on their way as quickly as possible."

There have been recent instances where BA passengers have had the misfortune of being on a 'flight to nowhere'. Back in June, a Boeing 787 was compelled to perform an about-turn after travelling 2,300 miles towards Newfoundland in Canada due to a technical snag.

It’s quite common for British Airways flights to head back to one of London's airports when faced with technical issues, rather than carrying on to their scheduled destination. This protocol is adopted because it’s easier and more economical to manage alternative flights and repair the aircraft.

The Boeing 777 that reversed course on Tuesday was reportedly airborne again by the next day, according to Flightradar24.