Plane flies to Scotland, not Germany, by mistake
LONDON:A British Airways (BA) flight destined for Dusseldorf in Germany landed in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh by mistake, after the flight paperwork was submitted incorrectly, a media report said on Monday.
The passengers only realised the error when the plane landed and the “welcome to Edinburgh” announcement was made.
The flight was redirected and landed in Dusseldorf, BA said. German firm WDL Aviation ran the flight for BA as part of a leasing deal, the BBC reported.
BA said it was working with WDL to find out why it filed the wrong flight plan.
“We have apologised to customers for this interruption to their journey and will be contacting them all individually,” BA said in a statement.
The airline declined to say how many passengers were affected by the mistake.
BA said the pilot wasn’t lost at any point, but because the paperwork said Edinburgh, air traffic control allowed the flight to take that route.
The plane took off from London City Airport.
Sophie Cooke, a management consultant who travels from London to Dusseldorf each week for work, said when the pilot first made the announcement that the plane was about to land in Edinburgh, everyone assumed it was a joke. She asked the cabin crew if they were joking.
The pilot then asked passengers to raise their hands if they wanted to go to Dusseldorf. Everyone raised their hands.
Passengers later complained about the error on Twitter.