A Virgin Atlantic plane bound for Florida from London was forced to make a U-turn after flying around in circles for hours.
Passengers on board the flight VS135 faced a change of plans when their plane to Orlando from Heathrow suddenly turned back.
The pilot steering the Airbus A350 jet for the Atlantic crossing was forced to pull the move off the coast of Ireland yesterday.
Everything appeared to be in order when the plane accelerated from the UK’s busiest airport at about 12.47pm and headed west towards Ireland and the open ocean.
The plane was cruising at 36,000 ft when it suddenly made a sharp turn back towards the Irish coast.
A map shows the Virgin Atlantic Flight VS135’s winding route (Picture: Flightradar24)
It then made six circles off the coast of Dingle before zooming north,where it made one more lap and then headed back towards the UK.
Passengers got off shortly before 6pm when the plane touched down at Heathrow.
Virgin Atlantic has now revealed what happened on board the plane and why it returned.
Speaking to Metro,it said the plane had suffered a ‘minor technical issue.’
The aircraft involved was an Airbus A350 operated by Virgin Atlantic (Picture: GC Images)
Aviation safety protocols mean that pilots will not start a long oceanic crossing if there is even a minor technical or system glitch,according to experts.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: ‘Flight VS135 from London Heathrow to Orlando on Monday,July 13,returned to London Heathrow due to a minor technical issue and was subsequently cancelled.
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‘We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers.
‘The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority.
‘Our teams will be in contact with all affected customers and are working hard to rebook them onto alternative services as quickly as possible.’
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