British Airways London flight to Germany mistakenly goes to Scotland, Mar 2019

[JerseyGirl]

Passengers on a London flight to Germany ended up taking a 525-mile detour to Scotland due to an apparent mix-up with the flight plan.

The British Airways flight that took off Monday morning from London's City Airport was meant to land in Dusseldorf, but due to an incorrectly filed flight plan, the pilot and crew thought they were supposed to land in Edinburgh.

The plane eventually ended up taking off from Edinburgh to land in the correct destination.

"We have apologized to customers for this interruption to their journey and will be contacting them all individually," an British Airlines representative said.

London flight to Germany mistakenly goes to Scotland

 

[cybervampira]

Brexit test?

 

[Jim_M]

Brexit test?

 

[CoverMeCagney]

And nobody realised when they didn't cross any sea?

 

[Jim_M]

And nobody realised when they didn't cross any sea?

Too much drinking going on??

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Too much drinking going on??

Probably more business dudes than stag party!

Funny though it is, why did not one of the flight crew notice the wrong airport code on the boarding passes?! Dusseldorf is due east of London, across the water. Edinburgh is north and west a bit with no water to cross. Landscape would be totally different all the way up!

 

[JerseyGirl]

And nobody realised when they didn't cross any sea?

A woman said she realized something wasn't right when she saw mountains outside the plane, instead of the "usual German industrial landscape."

Another passenger on the flight said, "Most passengers sleep or work through this flight so no one really noticed we were not flying over the Channel. We only realized we are in Scotland once we descended on approach and asked the crew."

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/...t-lands-in-edinburgh-scli-gbr-intl/index.html

 

[cybervampira]

BA flight lands in Edinburgh by mistake

[...]

The passengers only realised the error when the plane landed and the "welcome to Edinburgh" announcement was made.

[...]

She 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 serious.

The pilot then asked passengers to raise their hands if they wanted to go to Düsseldorf.

Everyone raised their hands.

[...]

 

[PrairieWind]

Wow, I wonder what the cost $$ of this mistake was? Lost of wasted fuel. Seems like there must have been quite a few people not paying attention to a lot of things.

 

[PrairieWind]

I'm one of those people that likes a window seat because I like to look out. I might have been a bit concerned when I noticed that the plane wasn't headed out over the water. But even then, what do you do? Signal the flight attendant as ask "Um, does the captain know where he is going?"

 

[margarita25]

While I initially got a giggle about this and was going to say they must have been going to visit our dear friend @gregjrichards, this is also quite troubling, moo. A plane seen as a potentially terroristic threat could have been shot down (I know that sounds extreme but after 9/11...), what if this plane was really hijacked? What a fiasco.

This is a huge airspace breach obviously.

It seems like more and more I’m seeing screwups, bIG ScreWups, of where people in very important positions are not doing their jobs correctly

 

[PrairieWind]

While I initially got a giggle about this and was going to say they must have been going to visit @gregjrichards, this is also quite troubling, moo. A plane seen as a potentially terroristic tool could have been shot down (I know that sounds extreme but after 9/11...), what if this plane would have been hijacked. What a fiasco.

This is a huge airspace breach obviously.

I think the pilots had filed a flight plan for Scotland didn't they? But regardless, things like this just shouldn't happen.

 

[margarita25]

I think the pilots had filed a flight plan for Scotland didn't they? But regardless, things like this just shouldn't happen.

You’re correct, sorry. As you said this should NOT have happened.

(Please see my eta)

Additionally, technology gets us sometimes.

 

[Jim_M]

While I initially got a giggle about this and was going to say they must have been going to visit our dear friend @gregjrichards, this is also quite troubling, moo. A plane seen as a potentially terroristic threat could have been shot down (I know that sounds extreme but after 9/11...), what if this plane would have been hijacked. What a fiasco.

This is a huge airspace breach obviously.

It seems like more and more I’m seeing screwups, bIG ScreWups, of where people in very important positions are not doing their jobs correctly.

They had to be in contact with ATC (Air Traffic Control) right? What were they talking about while going up into the air? Yeah, there will be some serious repercussions for this. Or not, who knows?

 

[margarita25]

They had to be in contact with ATC (Air Traffic Control) right? What were they talking about while going up into the air? Yeah, there will be some serious repercussions for this. Or not, who knows?

Oh I think there will be. BA is huge, I’m irate about this even though I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed flying with them lol.

In addition to the potential safety issues, etc, talk about the inconvenience. what if you were going your daughter’s wedding or something else like that very important, or missed a meeting, etc. Sure that happens all the time (flight delays and reroutes necessary for weather, etc), but this is messed up.

Looking forward to more details and updates on this.

(ETA:
@MsFacetious and @Hatfield may also be interested in this thread )

 

[PrairieWind]

You’re correct, sorry. As you said this should NOT have happened.


ETA:
It seems like more and more I’m seeing screwups, bIG ScreWups, of where people in very important positions are not doing their jobs correctly.

I am assuming the sign at the gate would have said "Dusseldorf" otherwise the passengers would have said something. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around how exactly this happens. But you're right, it does seem like that more cases where people are just making incredible mistakes. Laziness, not qualified or trained for their jobs, etc.

 

[margarita25]

Passengers on a London flight to Germany ended up taking a 525-mile detour to Scotland due to an apparent mix-up with the flight plan.

The British Airways flight that took off Monday morning from London's City Airport was meant to land in Dusseldorf, but due to an incorrectly filed flight plan, the pilot and crew thought they were supposed to land in Edinburgh.

The plane eventually ended up taking off from Edinburgh to land in the correct destination.

"We have apologized to customers for this interruption to their journey and will be contacting them all individually," an British Airlines representative said.

London flight to Germany mistakenly goes to Scotland

Apology?? You sent them to the wrong freaking country!!

 

[PrairieWind]

They had to be in contact with ATC (Air Traffic Control) right? What were they talking about while going up into the air? Yeah, there will be some serious repercussions for this. Or not, who knows?

As far as ATC and the cockpit crew were concerned, everything was ok, the flight was going to Scotland. As I understand, the pilots got incorrect information on the flight and filed a plan for Scotland. How that never gets double checked by anyone or noticed I can't imagine.

 

[Jim_M]

Apology?? You sent them to the wrong freaking country!!

Stop!! You're making me LOL all over again!

ETA: And this is serious business I'll have you know!

 

[PrairieWind]

I would have loved to see the expressions on the flight crew's faces when they realized what had happened. The flight attendants probably wondered why all these Germans were going to Scotland.