A British Airways flight operating from London to Bologna, Italy has declared an emergency and is currently initiating a return to Heathrow.
British Airways flight BA540 London – Bologna
British Airways flight BA540, an Airbus A320-200 operating a scheduled service from London Heathrow (LHR) to Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ) has declared a general emergency in the last few moments.
The aircraft squawked transponder code 7700 whilst transiting French airspace near Paris, and is currently making good a return to London Heathrow.
Having returned to the London Flight Information Region, British Airways flight BA540 now in a holding pattern for approach to Heathrow.
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Approach to London
Weather for the flights return into Heathrow is currently visual conditions (VFR) with light wind, no cloud and visibility 10km or more
Data for this morning’s British Airways service to Bologna shows that flight BA540 made a departure from LHR at 08:15 BST; a slight delay from the scheduled departure time of 07:40 BST.
The flight then proceeded normally, climbing on the south-easterly flight plan track to a cruising level of FL390 (39,000 feet).
The aircraft then declared an emergency with squawk code 7700 whilst transiting French airspace near Paris. The aircraft involved in today’s flight is Airbus A320-251N, registered G-TTNC; a 5-year old narrowbody aircraft belonging to the British national flag carrier.
UPDATE 0940 BST
Flight BA540 now landed on RWY27, with unconfirmed report suggesting it may be on runway or blocking traffic. The cause of this morning’s precautionary return to London is not yet known.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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