United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
BA apology after Sydney-London flight diverted
British Airways has apologised to 354 passengers on a flight from Sydney to London on Saturday who were diverted to Kazakhstan after a fire alert on board.
The warning turned out to be a false alarm but the Boeing 747 aircraft was then unable to take off again because it was too heavy for the runway at the regional airport of Uralsk.
“This particular airport is not designed for use by such an aircraft,” said a BA spokeswoman.
Three smaller aircraft were despatched to take the passengers to London, with passengers delayed by up to 12 hours.
The problems were exacerbated because there were no steps high enough at the airport so passengers had difficulty disembarking.
“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience, but safety and security will not be compromised,” the spokeswoman added.
Report by Bev Fearis
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