A British Airways passenger flight bound for Faro, Portugal, made an abrupt return to London after a technical problem emerged less than an hour into its Oct. 13 journey. Flight 2660 had left London Gatwick Airport before reversing course over France, as reported [1] by Fox News.
According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft had been traveling toward the popular European destination when its route suddenly changed.
The tracking data showed the plane heading back to the British capital instead of continuing toward Portugal.
A British Airways spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the aircraft needed to divert after what the company described as a minor technical issue. The airline did not publicly identify the exact problem in the statement provided to the outlet.
“The aircraft diverted following a minor technical issue and landed safely back at London Gatwick,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“We have apologized to customers for the delay to their journey, and our teams worked hard to get their travel plans back on track.”
A cracked passenger window reportedly prompted the return, although British Airways itself cited only an unspecified technical issue.
The unexpected diversion turned an otherwise routine trip into an unsettling airborne episode and brought the aircraft back to the airport where its journey began.
During the incident, the flight crew transmitted a 7700 emergency code, according to flight tracker AirNav Radar. The signal alerted air traffic controllers that the aircraft was dealing with an emergency, but it did not identify the specific nature of the problem.
Steven Arroyo, an aviation safety expert and retired United Airlines captain based in Florida, explained that 7700 is a universal code. Pilots can enter it into an aircraft transponder to notify air traffic controllers that an emergency is unfolding.
“That lights up on the radar screen, and it lets air traffic control know there’s an event going on,” Arroyo told Fox News Digital.
The code itself does not tell controllers exactly what has happened, Arroyo noted. Pilots can then communicate directly with air traffic control about the problem and explain what kind of assistance they may need.
Arroyo said passenger windows on aircraft are constructed with multiple layers. As a result, the severity of a crack depends on the location of the damage and which part of the window has been affected.
In a more serious case, window damage could interfere with an aircraft’s ability to maintain cabin pressure, according to Arroyo. A less severe crack can still lead a crew to land as a precaution rather than risk the problem becoming worse during the flight.
Crews consider several factors when deciding whether to continue toward their destination or divert to another airport. Arroyo said safety takes priority when pilots make that decision.
Returning to Gatwick allowed the pilots to land before the reported crack could worsen. The aircraft ultimately landed safely at the same airport from which it had departed.
Arroyo also urged passengers who notice possible window damage to alert a flight attendant. Travelers should not simply assume that members of the cabin crew or pilots already know about the problem.
“The pilots want this kind of information,” he said, adding that passengers can help cabin crews identify something that may require further attention.
Fox News Digital previously talked about a more serious window incident aboard a Ryanair flight in July. A passenger window became dislodged shortly after the aircraft departed Thessaloniki, Greece, causing a loss of cabin pressure.
A passenger, age 61, was nearly pulled outside during that incident. Other passengers helped pull him back inside the aircraft before it returned safely to Thessaloniki.
The passenger was taken for medical treatment following the Ryanair incident. He suffered neck and shoulder injuries as well as friction burns, according to the reports cited by Fox News Digital.
In the British Airways incident, the crack led to an emergency code, a diversion and a delayed journey, but the aircraft returned safely. British Airways said its teams worked to restore the affected customers’ travel plans.