Airlines sometimes fly to the wrong airport but a British Airways flight to Dusseldorf has beaten all expectations by managing to fly to the wrong country.
Stunned passengers found themselves being welcomed to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh after a wrong flight plan was filed for the flight on Monday.
The passengers initially assumed the “welcome to Edinburgh” PA message was a joke and only discovered the truth when the captain entered the cabin and asked people to put up their hands if they were expecting to go to Dusseldorf, The Scotsman reported.
The newspaper said Edinburgh airport described the landing as “a surprise”.
“We’re a welcoming airport that is always happy to greet visitors from all over the world to our fantastic city, but this was a surprise for us as well as them,’’ an airport spokesman said
The plane sat on the tarmac for two and a half hours before finally setting off for Western Germany.
Passenger Son Tran asked British Airways on Twitter to explain how a morning flight taking off from London City Airport to Dusseldorf could land in Edinburgh.
“While an interesting concept, I don’t think anybody on board has signed up for this mystery travel lottery,’’ he added.
READ: Final British Airways retro livery lands in Heathrow.
“This feels like an honest mistake rather than a diversion. The crew was convinced of the Edinburgh flight path from the get-go”.
The flight crew appeared to equally non-plussed.
“The pilot said he had no idea how it had happened,’’ passenger Sophie Cooke told the BBC. “He said it had never happened before and the crew was trying to work out what to do.’’
To add insult to injury, Cooke said the toilets became blocked and the plane ran out of snacks.
British Airways said the aircraft was wet-leased from German firm WDL Aviation.
“We are working with WDL Aviation, who operated this flight on behalf of British Airways, to establish why the incorrect flight plan was filed,’’ BA said.
“We have apologized to customers for this interruption to their journey and will be contacting them all individually."
Have questions or want to share your thoughts?
