BA flight forced to turn back over cracked window

Key points

• A British Airways flight to Faro returned to Gatwick Airport on Tuesday after a cracked passenger window was reported.
• The Airbus A321 squawked the 7700 emergency code, used for mechanical or technical problems on board.
• British Airways apologised for the delay and said teams were working to get passengers' travel plans back on track.

A British Airways flight bound for Portugal turned back to Gatwick Airport on Tuesday because of what the airline called a minor technical issue, reported to be a cracked window.

Flight BA2660 was heading to Faro in the Algarve when it diverted over north-western France and returned to London Gatwick.

What the airline said

A British Airways spokesperson said the plane landed safely at Gatwick and that passengers were due to resume their journey.

The spokesperson said the airline had apologised to customers for the delay and that teams were working hard to get their travel plans back on track.

We have apologised to customers for the delay to their journey, and our teams are working hard to get their travel plans back on track

— a British Airways spokesperson

Emergency code and earlier incidents

AirNav Radar, a flight data provider, posted on X that a passenger window was cracked and that the flight deck was going through checks before deciding where to divert.

AirNav Radar reported that the BA Airbus A321 squawked the 7700 emergency code, used when there are mechanical or technical problems on board aircraft.

The article also noted that last week a BA flight bound for Chicago spent five hours circling over Ireland before returning to London Heathrow, and that in August a passenger on a Ryanair flight was seriously injured when his head and right shoulder were sucked out of a window.