A British Airways jet flying from London to Chicago declared an emergency and turned around over Ireland before landing at London’s Heathrow Airport.
The aircraft descended 27,000 feet in around seven minutes about 30 minutes into its journey.
A sudden mid-air scare forces a Chicago-bound journey to make a dramatic turnaround | Flight tracking data showed that British Airways flight BA295 made a U-turn back to the UK on Monday just an hour into its trip from London to Chicago, having declared an emergency mid-flight… pic.twitter.com/PhDRJjexwM
— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) October 5, 2026
The Mirror has more:
The Boeing 777-200ER plane departed from London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 at 11.50am, with a scheduled flight time of eight hours and 40 minutes to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).
About an hour after take-off, the aircraft had climbed to its cruising altitude of 37,000 feet when it appeared to encounter an issue and declared an emergency. Flight-tracking data shows the aircraft descended rapidly from cruising altitude to around 9,000 feet.
The plane burned fuel over the Bristol Channel before touching down at Heathrow again at around 5pm.
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The flight crew issued a squawk 7700 code, the international aviation signal for a general emergency, shortly after beginning the rapid descent.
Although the cause of the descent is unconfirmed, rapid descents to lower altitudes typically indicate a cabin depressurization event.
BREAKING: British Airways flight BA295 from London to Chicago has declared an emergency over Ireland, squawking 7700.
The aircraft descended to around 9,000 feet while over Ireland — flight tracker pic.twitter.com/qzKD4AeiuI
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 5, 2026
NBC News noted:
British Airways did not immediately respond to requests for more information about the jet’s turnaround.
This story is developing.
