This is your captain speaking ...we’ve only got 5 minutes’ fuel left
AS mid-air announcements go, it was hardly reassuring.
Indeed, passengers on the flight from the US to Heathrow yesterday were – to say the least – disconcerted when the captain told them: ‘We’ve only got five minutes of fuel left.’
The disclosure came amid chaos as dozens of planes bound for Europe’s busiest airport were ‘stacked’ or diverted because of an RAF jet’s ‘unplanned’ need for Heathrow’s airspace.
At least four British Airways flights and one Virgin Atlantic plane were forced to make diversions to Gatwick, Stansted and Luton around 9am. Other flights were stacked at Heathrow and left to circle as they waited for airspace to clear.
One of those affected was a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet from Los Angeles. Passengers included TV producer Anne Henry, who said: ‘It was quite alarming when the captain announced after circling Heathrow for a while “Ladies and gentlemen, we have about five to ten minutes’ fuel left so we may need to divert to Gatwick”.’
They did indeed divert, and after landing, she reported: ‘We’ve been on the ground for about an hour but we’re not allowed to get off. The official line from the pilot on the Tannoy has been “security incident”. ‘
The RAF said it ‘regretted’ the delays to commercial flights because of occupying the airspace, but declined to clarify the reasons. The closure lasted for about 20 minutes.
The military aircraft involved was travelling from west London’s RAF Northolt, home to 32 Squadron, whose roles include flying VIPs such as the Royal Family and politicians.
Passengers posted on social media following the incident to ask airlines for more information.
Virgin Atlantic would not comment on the pilot’s warning over fuel. A spokesman said the flight was diverted ‘due to a brief closure of airspace over London Heathrow’, adding: ‘The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority.
‘We’d like to apologise to our customers for the disruption to their journey and thank them for their patience.’ An RAF spokesman said: ‘A flight was completed this morning by one of our assets from RAF Northolt. This flight was co- ordinated with Heathrow air traffic control but had to extend by a few minutes to complete its sortie.’