A British Airways flight has unexpectedly altered its flight path and is now circling over the Atlantic off the coast of Cornwall in a holding pattern.
The flight from London Heathrow took off at 1.41pm today bound for Rio De Janeiro in Brazil, a 9,000km flight across the Atlantic Ocean which was scheduled to take just under 12 hours.
However flight radar shows that the British Airways flight BA249 had cleared the coast of Cornwall and was just reaching open ocean when it turned back before starting to circle over the north Cornish coast.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner now appears to be returning to Heathrow, just over two hours since it took off from the airport this afternoon.
MyLondon has reached out to British Airways for more information on the reason behind the flight turning back.
For more updates on this story follow our live blog below
16:25Dan Wiggins
Minor technical issue behind the return
It’s understood that a minor technical issue is behind the decision to turn back, with no risks being taken with such a long flight planned.
Those flying on the plane can expect British Airways to keep them updated on travel plans following the incident.
16:22Dan Wiggins
Flight lands at Heathrow Airport
After just over two and a half hours airbourne the British Airways flight has now touched back down at Heathrow.
It is not yet known what the issue with the flight was to cause the pilots to turn around over the Atlantic.
The Boeing 787-8 had been scheduled to fly over 9,000km to Rio De Janeiro this evening.
The flight is showing on flight trackers as taxiing off the runway normally.
16:06Dan Wiggins
Where is the flight right now?
The flight BA 249 is currently approaching London from the south west having just passed over Portsmouth.
You can track its progress live on FightRadar24 on your browser which also highlights the unusual flight path taken so far.
The plane appears to have circled three times off the coast of Cornwall after turning back before heading off for Heathrow again.
15:59Dan Wiggins
What we know so far
- A British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Rio De Janeiro has turned back over the Atlantic Ocean after circling briefly off the coast of Cornwall.
- The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner left on the 9,000km journey at 1.41pm this afternoon.
- Now just two hours into the flight it seems to be heading back for London after turning around over open ocean and briefly circling off the Cornish coast.