BAW183 London to New York JFK returning
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BAW183 London to New York JFK returning
Just noticed BAW183 747 4/01/2018 turned back just past Ireland, looks like its returning to Heathrow. Anyone know why?
Statistically, it's most likely to be a (non-life-threatening) medical issue, though of course it could be a technical problem. It's not using an emergency squawk and is currently in the Ockham hold.
Give it 24 hours, then visit here to find out what the reason was.
Give it 24 hours, then visit here to find out what the reason was.
The 183 was a return due to snow, I believe there was another.
As to why did they go on the first place? My best guess would be the weather forecast valid at departure time indicated it was ok to go from an aviating POV but as the situation on the ground developed and people at JFK saw what they were really dealing with then maybe other issues came into play..
Cancellation/major delays to some the earlier BA flights outbound from JFK would have made ramp/gate space unavailable for the inbounds (gate space at the terminal BA use at JFK is very limited). If general ground infrastructure or onwards connecting flights were badly effected by the weather there might have been probs getting pax (and crew) away from JFK post arrival and the port authority might not have appreciated any more arrivals.....
In short the decision to return might not have been purely down to aircraft operating limits.
As to why did they go on the first place? My best guess would be the weather forecast valid at departure time indicated it was ok to go from an aviating POV but as the situation on the ground developed and people at JFK saw what they were really dealing with then maybe other issues came into play..
Cancellation/major delays to some the earlier BA flights outbound from JFK would have made ramp/gate space unavailable for the inbounds (gate space at the terminal BA use at JFK is very limited). If general ground infrastructure or onwards connecting flights were badly effected by the weather there might have been probs getting pax (and crew) away from JFK post arrival and the port authority might not have appreciated any more arrivals.....
In short the decision to return might not have been purely down to aircraft operating limits.
Last edited by wiggy; 5th Jan 2018 at 06:52.
From a JFK info site this morning.
I don’t know how much notice (if any) operators got of the closure.
Due to SNOW, the John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) was closed as of Jan 04 at 10:57 AM EST. The date/time when the airport is expected to reopen is Jan 05 at 07:00 AM EST.
Having nothing better to do I checked FR24, Flightaware, etc. There were around 100 diversions of flights bound for JFK. I counted 18 international diversions to ORD and two to MIA (XL 1438 from Guayaquil got to the NYC area before diverting), Obviously closer alternates couldn't cope with the demand.
LGA was closed for most of the day - there were a few DL ops late in the evening.
Other flights that appear to have returned to base:
DY 7019 (CDG)
IB 6253 (MAD)
VS 25 (LHR)
Obviously the weather turned out worse than forecast, but the met guys can't get it right all of the time. At least the pilots & despatchers knew to load a lot of contigency fuel.
LGA was closed for most of the day - there were a few DL ops late in the evening.
Other flights that appear to have returned to base:
DY 7019 (CDG)
IB 6253 (MAD)
VS 25 (LHR)
Obviously the weather turned out worse than forecast, but the met guys can't get it right all of the time. At least the pilots & despatchers knew to load a lot of contigency fuel.
Last edited by Peter47; 7th Jan 2018 at 20:52.
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More issues today 06/01
LH400, LH410 and OS87 all turned round over the UK or Ireland and returned to FRA, MUC and VIE respectively
This seems to be because of ground congestion at JFK with planes waiting hours for a gate and then pax waiting hours for baggage.
I notice that according to FR24, the SAA203 (A346) from JNB landed this morning at JFK almost on time after a 15h29m flight time and then waited 4 hours for a gate.
LH400, LH410 and OS87 all turned round over the UK or Ireland and returned to FRA, MUC and VIE respectively
This seems to be because of ground congestion at JFK with planes waiting hours for a gate and then pax waiting hours for baggage.
I notice that according to FR24, the SAA203 (A346) from JNB landed this morning at JFK almost on time after a 15h29m flight time and then waited 4 hours for a gate.
