British Airways Faro flight declares mid-air emergency and turns back to Gatwick after 'cracked window' is spotted near row 3R

A British Airways Airbus A320, the airline whose flight BA2660 turned back to Gatwick after a passenger window cracked mid-route to Faro, having already passed Brittany.

British Airways flight BA2660, which declared a mid-air emergency after a passenger window cracked, was operated by BA EuroFlyer on a 22-year-old Airbus A321-231.

Structural damage was identified to a window panel on the right side of the Airbus A321-231, near row 3R, prompting pilots to issue a squawk 7700 general emergency signal over northern France. Flight BA2660 had departed Gatwick at around 9am bound for Faro in Portugal before turning back roughly an hour into the journey. Cabin pressure was maintained throughout, and emergency ground crews met the aircraft on its return as a precaution. The airline confirmed the plane touched down without incident and that teams are working to get passengers to Portugal.

The 22-year-old aircraft, registered G-EUXD, will now be inspected to determine the cause and extent of the window damage before returning to service.

BA called it a 'minor technical issue' and expressed apologies to affected customers for the disruption.

The previous week, a separate BA flight to Chicago made five hours of holding circuits above Ireland before diverting back to Heathrow, where oxygen masks had dropped in the cabin.

BBC NewsBA flight forced to turn back over cracked window LBCBritish Airways flight forced back to Gatwick after 'cracked window' sparks emergency The IndependentBritish Airways flight diverted in mid-air emergency over cracked window

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