British Airways flight makes sudden mid-air U-turn over 'crack' as emergency declared

British Airways flight makes sudden mid-air U-turn over 'crack' as emergency declared British Airways flight BA2660 to Faro, Portugal, was forced to return to Gatwick Airport after what the company has called a 'minor technical issue' A British Airways aircraft travelling to Portugal was forced to return to Gatwick after a passenger window reportedly cracked. Flight BA2660 was en route to Faro in Portugal when the incident occurred on Tuesday morning. The pilot of the Airbus A321-231 had to abandon the journey and turn back shortly after passing Brittany in France, roughly an hour into the flight, according to flight-tracking data. AirNav Radar flagged the issue after the BA EuroFlyer service declared an emergency and prepared to divert. They posted on X: "A passenger window is cracked. Flight deck going through checks before deciding where to divert." Aviation news outlet AirLive reported that pilots had identified "structural damage to a window panel on the right side of the aircraft". The aircraft departed Gatwick at approximately 9am before pilots reportedly issued the general emergency. Flightradar24 then showed the plane heading back towards London Gatwick. The specifics of the emergency have not been officially confirmed. A spokesperson for British Airways said: "The aircraft diverted following a minor technical issue and landed safely back at London Gatwick. "We have apologised to customers for the delay to their journey, and our teams are working hard to get their travel plans back on track."