BRITISH AIRWAYS FLIGHT DIVERTS TO GATWICK AFTER WINDOW CRACKS

A British Airways flight from Gatwick to Faro in Portugal turned back on Tuesday after a technical issue reported to be a cracked window. Flight BA2660 was flying over north-western France when it diverted to London Gatwick Airport. A British Airways spokesperson said the aircraft landed safely after what the airline described as a minor technical issue, and that passengers were due to resume their journey. British Airways apologised to customers for the delay and said its teams were working to get their travel plans back on track.

AirNav Radar, a flight data provider, said on X that a passenger window had cracked and that the flight deck was carrying out checks before deciding where to divert. It identified the aircraft as an Airbus A321 and said the plane squawked the 7700 code, which is used to alert air traffic control to mechanical or technical problems on board. The flight had been due to continue to Faro, in the Algarve, before the fault was found. British Airways did not give further details of the technical issue beyond confirming the safe landing at Gatwick.

The diversion follows a British Airways flight to Chicago last week that spent five hours circling over Ireland before returning to Heathrow, where it had taken off. That flight issued an emergency alert; passengers reported oxygen masks dropping and turbulence, while tracking data showed it descending rapidly from 37,000 feet to 9,000 feet. In August, Ryanair passenger Ljubisa Karović was left seriously injured and in shock after a window broke in flight, pulling his head and right shoulder outside the aircraft, according to reports at the time. Ryanair said the window may have been damaged by a foreign object.