A flight bound for Chicago began descending about 30 minutes after leaving London. The airline said the aircraft had a technical issue and landed safely at Heathrow.
A British Airways flight from London to Chicago turned back over Ireland and returned to Heathrow after a technical issue, the airline said. FlightAware data showed the aircraft began descending about 30 minutes after departure, dropping from roughly 36,000 feet to 9,000 feet over several minutes.
The tracking data indicated the descent appeared controlled. The plane circled for several hours, apparently to burn off fuel, before landing safely at Heathrow on Monday evening local time.
A British Airways spokesperson said passengers disembarked normally and the airline’s teams were working to arrange onward travel as quickly as possible. The company did not specify the cause of the technical issue.