Passengers aboard British Airways Flight BA12 experienced an unexpected journey when their already delayed flight from Singapore to London Heathrow was disrupted by a malfunctioning weather radar on the Airbus A380 superjumbo.
Scheduled to depart Singapore at 11:20 pm on Monday, the flight faced additional delays due to technical issues, forcing passengers to endure a four-hour wait onboard the aircraft before finally taking off at 3:10 am.
Once in the air, the 10-year-old A380 ascended towards Malaysia for its 13-hour journey to London. However, the pilots had to make an abrupt turnaround after reaching 27,000 feet due to a weather radar malfunction.
The situation became more complex as the aircraft was fully fueled for the long-haul flight to London, preventing an immediate return to Singapore for repairs. Consequently, the A380 entered a holding pattern over Singapore to burn off excess fuel and safely reduce its weight for landing.
Flight tracking data from Flight Radar 24 depicted the aircraft circling over Singapore’s coast for four hours as fuel was gradually depleted. Ultimately, the flight landed back at Singapore Changi Airport, leading to its cancellation and passengers being accommodated in hotels overnight.
British Airways’ Airbus A380 fleet has faced challenges since returning to service after pandemic-related storage. The A380 involved in Monday night’s incident (registration: G-XLED) had been in long-term storage since March 2020 and resumed service in January 2022. Despite being integral to the airline’s fleet, A380s have caused numerous delays and cancellations.
The ripple effect of the flight disruption extended to other routes, as the affected aircraft was also scheduled for flight BA269 to Los Angeles on Tuesday, which had to be canceled due to the absence of spare aircraft.
In response to the incident, a British Airways spokesperson expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to passengers and reassured that efforts were underway to assist affected travelers and minimize disruptions to their travel plans.
Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, paddleyourownkanoo.com
