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A British Airways flight to Portugal was forced to return to London following reports of a cracked passenger window.
Flight BA2660 from Gatwick to Portugal’s Faro airport issued a squawk 7700 alert, the signal for a general emergency, following a “technical issue” on Tuesday.
The Airbus A321 departed Gatwick at 9.06am, but was diverted back to the aviation hub an hour into the roughly two-hour flight.
Tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft performed a U-turn shortly after passing Brittany, France.
AirNav Radar posted on X that “a passenger window is cracked. Flight deck going through checks before deciding where to divert” at 9.55am.
According to aviation news outlet AirLive, crew identified “structural damage to a window panel on the right side of the aircraft” near row 3R before issuing the emergency signal.
Emergency ground crews at Gatwick met the flight on arrival.
A spokesperson for British Airways said: “The aircraft diverted following a minor technical issue and landed safely back at London Gatwick.
“We have apologised to customers for the delay to their journey, and our teams are working hard to get their travel plans back on track.”
Last month, a Mesa Airlines flight was forced to return to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, after its windshield cracked shortly after takeoff.
United Airlines Flight 6309, operated by Mesa, had set off bound for El Paso International Airport at approximately 12.20pm, only to have to make a dramatic U-turn as a result of the damage.
The Embraer E175 arrived back in Houston at 1pm and managed to taxi safely to its gateway.
A spokesperson for Mesa Airlines told CNN at the time: “The first officer’s windshield shattered shortly after takeoff and while there was no depressurization, standard procedure in such cases is to return to field.”
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