BA South African franchisee Comair forced to make dramatic emergency landing
A British Airways (BA) flight – operated by Comair – was forced to make a dramatic emergency landing in South Africa following issues with a faulty landing gear.
The flight had left the eastern Cape city of East London on Sunday and was headed 476 miles north to Johannesburg, carrying aboard 111 passengers.
Not long after takeoff pilots were forced to go back to East London’s airport, South African news website news24 reported.
“Our highly-trained crew made the decision to divert back to East London after experiencing a technical problem. The landing gear failed to retract,” said an airline spokesperson.
“We were able to re-accommodate passengers on a later flight on Sunday. Some passengers opted to have their flight tickets rebooked for another date. The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority.”
Oscar Mabuyane, the Eastern Cape’s premier, lauded the staff for how they handled the situation.
“It was a nervous moment to be in that situation, knowing when you are up there, everything is possible, coming down unceremoniously,” he said during an interview with the outlet.
“I commend how the captain and cabin crew professionally handled the situation and communicated well to settle everybody’s nerves.”
BA’s South African operations have recently been at the centre of criticism, with many people taking to Twitter to complain about the airline’s unreliability.
“Yesterday I missed my flight from East London South Africa to Cape Town. I got to the airport an hour before departure. The lady at the counter simply refused to assist. Then I called Customer Service, and after over 30 minutes of holding and waiting, I gave up,” tweeted one user, while another called BA “the most useless airline.”