Mystery As B787 Returns To Frankfurt
There were no immediate comments from authorities in Hyderabad: Reports
HYDERABAD: A Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, operating a flight from Frankfurt to Hyderabad, returned to the Germany on Sunday evening. PTI reported from London that passengers were told it was not given permission to land in India. While the reason was not officially announced, sources in Hyderabad suspected that there was a bomb threat to the aircraft.
Flight LH752 departed from Germany at 14.14 local time Sunday (5.44 pm IST) and was scheduled to land at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport early Monday but flight tracker data showed a diversion a few hours into the flight.
A passenger on board the flight told PTI from Frankfurt Airport that they were being provided overnight accommodation as their flight was rescheduled for Monday morning.
“We just landed back in Frankfurt around 15 minutes ago and all we were told is that Hyderabad hasn't given permission to land the flight there,” said the female passenger en route from the US to visit her mother in Hyderabad.
“It was a smooth flight and after about two hours in the air, we were told that we would be returning to Frankfurt. Now at the airport, they are providing us accommodation for the night and have told us that we will fly out tomorrow (Monday) morning at 10 am on the same flight, she said.
There were no immediate comments from authorities in Hyderabad.
PTI said that while Lufthansa had been approached for further updates and reasons behind the aborted flight, a Frankfurt Airport spokesperson confirmed that LH752 had landed back in Germany.
“We can confirm that there was a return to Frankfurt Airport. For further information, please contact the Federal Police or the airline,” the spokesperson said.
Lufthansa's live flight tracker on its website showed LH752 landed back at Frankfurt around 1730 local time (9 pm IST).
Earlier tracker data for the flight showing it was en route to Hyderabad was updated just before the updated landing information for Frankfurt. The flight tracker website flightaware.com also reflected similar information, though the exact reasons behind the diversion remain unestablished.
Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport received a message that the flight was returning to Frankfurt a short while after it had taken off from the German hub airport.
Meanwhile, a Chennai-bound British Airways Boeing Dreamliner returned to London due to a technical snag on Sunday. The flight landed safely with crew and passengers disembarking as they normally would, British Airways said in a statement.
The airline, however, did not share other details such as the departure time of the flight, the number of passengers and crew on board and for how long the aircraft remained airborne before it returned to London.
“The aircraft returned to Heathrow as a standard precaution after reports of a technical issue,” British Airways said.
As per the live flight tracking website Flightradar24.com British Airways flight BA35 was scheduled to depart at 1240 pm and had to arrive in Chennai at 3.30 am. It departed from London Heathrow at 1.16 pm but left after a delay of over 35 minutes.
The flight BA35 operated with a Boeing 787-8 remained airborne for nearly two hours before returning to London Heathrow, according to data from flightradar24.com.
The aircraft remained in multiple holding patterns before returning to Heathrow Airport, as per the website.
“Our teams are working hard to get their journeys back on track as soon as possible.