British Airways flight lands in Scotland by mistake

LONDON — Passengers on a British Airways flight from London to Dusseldorf, Germany, were left bewildered Monday when their plane landed in Scotland by mistake.

A blunder with paperwork seems to have been the problem: British Airways said a German company that had chartered the plane, WDL Aviation, had submitted the wrong route to air-traffic controllers.

‘‘We are working with WDL Aviation, who operated this flight on behalf of British Airways, to establish why the incorrect flight plan was filed,’’ British Airways said in a statement.

The flight, BA3271, which took off from London City Airport, did not seem to have been in any danger; because of the incorrect paperwork, the crew — including the pilot — and air-traffic controllers had all apparently believed that Edinburgh was the plane’s intended destination.

That came as small comfort to the passengers when flight attendants informed them that they had landed in the Scottish capital, about 520 miles from their intended destination.

One passenger, Son Tran, who was going to Düsseldorf on business, said none of the passengers had seemed aware of the destination mix-up.

‘‘While an interesting concept, I don’t think anyone on board has signed up for this mystery travel lottery,’’ Tran added in his Twitter post.

British Airways said, ‘‘We have apologized to customers for this interruption to their journey and will be contacting them all individually.’’

London City Airport also apologized, saying on Twitter, ‘‘As pleasant as Edinburgh is this time of year, we’re sorry that passengers traveling to Dusseldorf on BA3271, operated by WDL Aviation, initially landed in the Scottish capital.’’

While in Scotland, the plane refueled before heading to Dusseldorf, where it arrived less than three hours late.