CAPE TOWN - A British Airways flight from East London to Johannesburg was urgently diverted on Sunday, with 111 passengers on board, after the landing gear failed to retract.
This was confirmed by aviation company Comair, which operates domestic routes for the airline as a British Airways franchisee.
“We can confirm that flight BA6252 from East London to Johannesburg returned to King Phalo Airport after take-off just after 9am on Sunday, February 20, 2022. Our highly trained crew made the decision to divert back to East London after experiencing a technical problem. The landing gear failed to retract,” Comair said.
“On the aircraft’s return to the King Phalo Airport, the British Airways (operated by Comair) manager on duty at at the airport and her team met the 111 passengers on board. We were able to re accommodate passengers on a later flight on Sunday. Some passengers opted to have their flight tickets rebooked for another date,” the airline said.
The company added that the safety of their customers was their “priority”.
Meanwhile, many flights in Europe have also been cancelled due to weather disruptions linked to Storm Eunice, which hit some of the biggest airports in Europe on February 18.
At least 13 people were killed on Friday by falling trees, flying debris and high winds in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Poland, emergency services said.
British Airways yesterday said: “We are currently facing ongoing disruption as a result of storms in the UK and across Europe this week. We’re sorry for the inconvenience we know this may have caused. Please rest assured we’ll do everything we can to help and we have volunteers from across the airline arriving at Heathrow Airport to offer their support.”
Cape Times