British Airways Dreamliner diverts to Iqaluit
Undisclosed ‘technical issue’ forces plane to land in Nunavut while en route to Seattle from London
A British Airways Boeing 787-10, Flight BA53 from London, U.K., to Seattle, U.S., sits on the tarmac at the Iqaluit airport after it made an emergency landing in Iqaluit on Thursday morning. (Photo by Mosha Folger)
A British Airways, Seattle-bound flight from London diverted to Iqaluit on Thursday after the crew declared an emergency while over the Arctic.
British Airways Capt. Rob McCracken stands with a passenger who required assistance disembarking after Flight BA53 from London, U.K., to Seattle, U.S., had to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit on Thursday. (Photo by Mosha Folger)
Flight BA53 — a Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner — departed London’s Heathrow airport Thursday morning and landed safely in Iqaluit at 11:07 a.m., according to Flightradar24, a site that tracks air travel around the world.
The aircraft had been operating the airline’s daily scheduled service from London to Seattle-Tacoma International airport in Washington State.
A British Airways spokesperson said the diversion was made as a precaution because of a “technical issue.”
“Our teams are working hard to get our customers on their way as soon as possible,” Carly Polay, the airline’s international communications executive for the Americas, said in an email to Nunatsiaq News.
A representative from Frobisher Bay Touchdown Services, which handles the disembarkation of passengers from planes that make emergency landings in Iqaluit, said more than 270 people came off the plane.
The operation went smoothly. The passengers were being fed but remained in the airport’s secure while the airline figured out the next steps.
The situation is complicated by the Inuit Circumpolar Council general assembly having many of Iqaluit’s hotel rooms booked for the week.
British Airways Capt. Rob McCracken could be seen checking on his passengers as they waited in the terminal.
The airline did not specify the nature of the technical issue or say how many passengers and crew were on board.
British Airways has also not said when the passengers will continue their journey to Seattle or whether a replacement aircraft will be sent.
A similar event happened to our BA plane on September 13th 2018. We spent the night in the Canadian army barracks and the Red Cross provided support. Iqaluit and the local residents were wonderful hosts on our unscheduled pit stop to Calgary.
Rob is my son-in-law. Ever calm under pressure!
We are grateful to your son in law for getting us on the ground safety with our two small kids.
I was a passenger on the plane. The BA crew handled the situation in the air and on the ground with brilliant professionalism. The police, security and ground handling staff at Iqaluit were so friendly and helpful. We all had Come from Away vibes.
Yes, agree! The team were amazing!
I totally agree with the comments on both the BA crew and the Iqaluit ground staff, they were all wonderful. I remember dozens of boxes of pitzas being brought in to the terminal building. We were well fed and watered!
A replacement aircraft and crew was sent up from, I believe, Toronto and this arrived around midnight. All the baggage was transferred to this aircraft and it was re-fueled. We passengers were told this aircraft would take us to Vancouver but not long after take off the new crew said they would not have enough hours left to go there so they turned south and took us to New York’s JFK ! I finally made it to Seattle late Saturday.