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25th Mar 2019

British Airways flight brings passengers to the entirely wrong country

Carl Kinsella

British Airways

Just the 1192.5km away.

A paperwork error has resulted in a flight that was supposed to be bound for Düsseldorf (Germany) accidentally landing in Edinburgh (not Germany).

The Scotsman reported on Monday afternoon that passengers originally believed that the “Welcome to Edinburgh” announcement on the PA system was a joke.

The flight originally took off from London City Airport at 7:30am this morning and had been scheduled to arrive in Germany two hours later. Instead, it landed in the Scottish capital.

It has since been clarified that it was not a pilot error, and that misfiled paperwork resulted in the pilot and crew believing they were set to fly to Edinburgh.

A statement issued by the airline reads: “We are working with WDL Aviation, who operated this flight on behalf of British Airways, to establish why the incorrect flight plan was filed. We have apologised to customers for this interruption to their journey and will be contacting them all individually.”

Some passengers have taken to their social media accounts to report on the diversion.

The airport has put the blame on WDL Aviation, which is based in Cologne, Germany.

They wrote: “As pleasant as Edinburgh is this time of year, we’re sorry that passengers travelling to Dusseldorf on BA3271, operated by WDL Aviation, initially landed in the Scottish capital, rather than their intended destination. This was due to an incorrect flight plan submitted by WDL.”

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