Second British Airways flight in one day makes emergency landing

Plane returns to Mumbai ‘as a precaution after a technical issue’

Helen Coffey

Tuesday 15 October 2019 15:03 BST

Comments

A British Airways flight had to perform an emergency landing (Flightradar24)

A flight from Mumbai was the second British Airways service in a day to perform an emergency landing.

BA flight 134 declared an emergency 35 minutes after taking off for London Heathrow and was forced to return to Mumbai.

It landed safely at 2.10pm, with fire engines waiting on standby, according to Mumbai Airport spokesperson.

The emergency status was withdrawn at 2.39pm.

A British Airways spokesperson said the emergency landing was “a precaution after a technical issue” and that all passengers had been rebooked onto alternative services and, where necessary, provided with overnight accommodation.

Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck

Show all 4

1/4Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck

Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck

Jessica Sundquist: 787 Dreamliner captain at Norwegian

Jessica Sundquist, a Swedish 787 Dreamliner captain for Norwegian, has spoken extensively about being a woman in the industry. In the past she’s spoken about the concept of “putting your femininity aside” in order to succeed. Sundquist says today that she felt she “didn’t have to do it”, but also wanted to fit into the industry “without being known as ‘the girl’”. Today, times are changing, she says, and more women are joining the industry – but it’s not all good news. “Despite working hard to get to where I am today as a captain at one of the most modern and exciting airlines, the industry still has a lot more work to do to give women more opportunities,” she says In the future, she’d like the discussion on gender inequality to remain “open and ongoing”, but argues that real action also needs to take place to make any difference.

Norwegian

Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck

Joanna Riggs: A380 first officer at British Airways

First officer Joanna Riggs says she was never “particularly exposed to aviation as a career choice”, but became a BA cabin crew member after university in order to see more of the world. She says that entering such a highly male-dominated profession wasn’t daunting, but that she felt “lucky to have two other females” on her course. Colleagues have always been supportive in Riggs’ experience as have – for the most part – passengers, though some are “surprised” when they see a female pilot. “I hope it will one day be normal to everyone,” she adds. Some passengers give a “thumbs up or a girl power sign”. As for gender differences on the flight deck, Riggs says, “We are very professional on the flight deck so it doesn’t matter what the gender, race or sexuality of my colleague is. “Flying with a fellow female is always a treat though. My brother is also a British Airways pilot, and although I haven’t flown with him, I get the feeling we would be very similar.

British Airways

Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck

Lucy Tardrew: Boeing 747 captain at Virgin Atlantic

Lucy Tardrew had always wanted to join the RAF, she says, but it was never allowed to happen – because ”they weren’t taking girls at the time”. Instead, she travelled to America, where she trained before becoming a flying instructor. After returning to the UK and converting her licences, she began flying night mail – “literally all the posts around the country at night” – before stints flying executive jets, and last-minute jobs including air ambulances and freighting transplant organs, before joining Virgin 23 years ago. Tardrew is enthusiastic about the company, but is saddened that the ratio of women in the industry as a whole remains low. As for challenges in the workplace, she’s never experienced any discrimination. Noting the rare pay equality in the piloting industry, Tardrew feels the reason there aren’t more female pilots is down to the fact that ”there aren’t enough female role models for schoolchildren to think, ‘I’m going to become an airline pilot’.”

Virgin Atlantic

Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck

Kate McWilliams: captain at easyJet

At 26, Kate McWilliams became the youngest commercial captain in the world. “I love being a captain for easyJet,” she says. “And I’m really happy to be working for an airline that is working hard to increase the number of female pilots.” Flying was always her goal – but she didn’t realise how far she could take it. “I joined the air cadets at 13-years-old, but it wasn’t until much later that I realised I could become a commercial pilot,” she says. “EasyJet is aiming to inspire young women, with the Amy Johnson Flying Initiative and their sponsorship of the Brownies, giving girls aged seven to 10 the opportunity to earn an Aviation Badge. The work it’s doing is really important.” The Amy Johnson Flying Initiative was launched in October 2015 with the aim of doubling the number of female new entrant pilots, to 12 per cent, over a two-year period. After achieving its aim in the first year, the airline set a target of 20 per cent for new entrant cadet pilots in 2020.

easyJet

Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 shows the aircraft take off and set out before circling several times and returning to Mumbai on 14 October.

It’s the second time in three days that flight BA134 was hit by a technical problem – on 12 October it landed at 9.25pm, a delay of more than four hours.

It is also the second time in one day that a British Airways flight had to perform an emergency landing.

Flight BA548 took off normally from Heathrow shortly before 9am for the 900-mile flight to Rome’s Fiumicino airport.

But after less than 20 minutes, shortly after the Airbus A321 had crossed the Channel coast at Dungeness, the crew “squawked 7700” – the international code indicating an emergency to air-traffic controllers.

The aircraft circled over the English Channel then returned to Heathrow, being given priority clearance to land at British Airways’ main base.

A BA spokesperson said: “We’re sorry for the delay in our customers’ travel plans after their aircraft had to return to Heathrow as a precaution after a minor technical issue.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

“Our teams on the ground are looking after our customers whilst we source another aircraft to continue their journey.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

US EditionChange

Thank you for registering

Second British Airways flight in one day makes emergency landing

Plane returns to Mumbai ‘as a precaution after a technical issue’

Thanks for signing up to the
Simon Calder’s Travel email

Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck

Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck

Jessica Sundquist: 787 Dreamliner captain at Norwegian

Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck

Joanna Riggs: A380 first officer at British Airways

Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck

Lucy Tardrew: Boeing 747 captain at Virgin Atlantic

Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck

Kate McWilliams: captain at easyJet

Join our commenting forum