British Airways Flight Diverts to Heathrow

A British Airways flight from London to Paris had to turn back to Heathrow due to severe weather, turning a short trip into a two-hour flight.

British Airways flight BA308 from London Heathrow to Paris Charles de Gaulle diverted back to Heathrow yesterday after failing to land due to adverse weather. The Airbus A321neo, registration G-TNEA, spent over two hours airborne for a route that typically takes 45 minutes, according to tracking data from Flightradar24.

A British Airways spokesperson told Simple Flying the return was due to weather in the Paris area leading to excessive holding. The airline provided overnight accommodation and rebooked customers on the next available flight.

BA308's Diverted Journey

The scheduled 3:05 PM departure from London Heathrow was meant to arrive in Paris at 5:30 PM local time. Instead, the aircraft took off nearly two hours late at 5:03 PM and landed back at Heathrow at 7:12 PM.

This incident was part of wider disruptions. For more on operational schedules and potential fixtures affected by such events, passengers can check relevant resources.

Widespread Airport Disruption

A band of thunderstorms across France caused the problems. Data from FlightAware shows significant delays at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, with 40% of departures and 42% of arrivals delayed. Only 18 departures and 18 arrivals were canceled.

Paris Orly Airport also saw 51% of its departures run late. In London, Heathrow, Gatwick, and Luton airports all reported high numbers of delays for arrivals and departures. The BBC reported that lightning strikes impacted Luton Airport's air traffic control systems.

British Airways' service to Paris was particularly affected. Of its seven scheduled flights from Heathrow to CDG yesterday, two operated on time, two were canceled, two ran late, and one was diverted.

The table below summarizes the disruption data from FlightAware for Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Aircraft's Subsequent Operations

The involved Airbus A321neo, G-TNEA, had its return flight BA309 canceled. It later operated flight BA764 to EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, arriving around 30 minutes late at 11:10 PM local time.

Today, the aircraft successfully completed a round trip to Paris. Flight BA302 landed at CDG at 11:13 AM local time, 18 minutes behind schedule. The return leg, BA303, touched down in London at 12:49 PM local time. For details on fleet operations and stats related to aircraft utilization, further information is available.

The shift from weeks of dry heat to cooler, wetter weather contributed to the challenging conditions across the region's major hubs.

Source: Simple Flying