British Airways flight makes emergency landing in Heathrow as passenger 'smelt burning'

An early morning flight from Heathrow, London had to make an emergency landing back at the airport on Wednesday, October 21. BA2596 from Heathrow to Verona, Italy reportedly faced a "technical issue." A passenger reportedly smelt something burning in the aircraft and the crew felt unwell. After the delay, the airline arranged for another aircraft which departed with the passengers around noon.

The Airbus A320-232 plane left Heathrow at 7:00 am this morning. After taking flight, the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport's Terminal Five. It reportedly took the aircraft a tense 10 minutes to make the landing. The worried passengers witnessed emergency vehicles approach the aircraft.

In a video shared on Twitter, at least four fire engines can be seen out of the aircraft window. According to the tweet, there was a smell of something burning in the aircraft. It also claimed that members of the crew were feeling ill.

The passengers were safely deboarded from the aircraft and asked to wait at the terminal. British Airlines apologised for the delay. They shared the information that the aircraft had faced some technical issue which made it unsafe to continue the journey. However, they did not reveal further details.

The airline arranged for an alternative aircraft of the same model to take the passengers to Italy. Hours after the emergency landing, the passengers were able to board the replacement aircraft. The flight boarded from gate C55 and departed around 12:20 pm, the Daily Mail reported.

A British Airways representative confirmed the incident. They pointed out that the safety of the passengers and crew is the airline's priority. Deeming the issue to be a "minor" one, the emergency return to Heathrow was a precautionary measure. Alternative arrangements were made to reduce the inconvenience caused to the passengers; the spokesperson concluded. The airline did not confirm the reports of the burning smell or the crew members falling ill.