More than 200 passengers were left stranded in Liverpool after midnight after a flight from Heathrow to Aberdeen was diverted due to fog.
The British Airways flight BA1318 took off just before 9.30pm yesterday, and was due to land in the Granite City just before 11pm.
However, when it was approaching Aberdeen, the flight instead ascended, as the captain informed passengers that fog was preventing landing.
After trying various closer airports for somewhere to land, the plane was instead diverted all the way south to Liverpool — 260 miles away as the crow flies.
The aircraft landed in Liverpool just after midnight, and passengers were eventually disembarked at about 1.30am — without any travel or accommodation sorted out for them.
Passenger tells of ‘anguish’ aboard flight diverted from Aberdeen to Liverpool
Ewan Edwards, a marine ecologist who was on board the Heathrow to Aberdeen flight with his wife and two young children, said he was told by staff on board the plane that there were 204 passengers on board.
He said: “We came within sight of the ground on approach to Aberdeen, and then the engines revved up and we accelerated away.
“The captain came on the radio to tell us the fog was too bad to safely land, and so we’re going to return to Heathrow.
BA1318 going all the way back to Heathrow due to fog at Aberdeen
— Flight Emergency (@FlightEmergency) March 12, 2023
“But then he came back on and said they tried Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prestwick, Manchester, and the only one that had a landing slot for us at that time was Liverpool.
“So that caused a bit of anguish with the passengers.
“The air crew was brilliant throughout, they were definitely trying to find a solution for us.”
British Airways passengers left to ‘fend for themselves’
Mr Edwards said after landing, the passengers were told they were potentially going to still return to Heathrow.
But by 1am, they were informed that there had been a “change of plan again, we’re going to disembark you in Liverpool”.
Mr Edwards said those on board were told that no hotel accommodation had been secured, so passengers were left to “fend for themselves” to get somewhere to stay overnight, as well as transportation.
Mr Edwards said: “With a flight of that size, 200 passengers, in the middle of a Sunday night, it’s going to be quite difficult for individuals to arrange taxis and hotels around Liverpool.
“It was a bit of a mess.”
Although Mr Edwards and his family managed to sort out a place to stay overnight, their hold luggage was kept on board the flight.
Passengers were only able to take their hand luggage off the plane with them.
What’s next for BA1318 passengers?
Not where I expected to wake up this morning, after boarding a BA flight from Heathrow to Aberdeen last night… pic.twitter.com/B8ZnvaOEZu
— Ewan Edwards (@ewaneddy) March 13, 2023
Mr Edwards said: “We’ve been told to get back for a 2.30pm return flight to Aberdeen, so it should be coming up, all being well.
“But, we’ll see how that goes.”
Others on board the flight have expressed their frustration on social media.
@British_Airways can you PLEASE give us an update on diverted flight BA1318 which landed in Liverpool last night. Some passengers received instruction to come to check in at 11:30am today, many received nothing. We’re all here waiting and there are no staff at check-in…
— Carla Mylles (@carlacurlywurly) March 13, 2023
A spokeswoman for British Airways said: “We apologised to customers for the delay to this service due to adverse weather conditions in Aberdeen.”
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