LONDON — A British Airways transatlantic flight was forced to make an abrupt U-turn over Ireland on Friday night, marking the second consecutive day a BA Boeing 777-200 heading to the United States had to abort its journey and return to London Heathrow.
Flight BA183, bound for New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, departed Heathrow at 8:30 PM on Friday, July 10, 2026. Shortly after takeoff, flight tracking data revealed unusual flight patterns as the Boeing 777-200ER, registered as G-RAES, stopped its initial climb at 20,000 feet.
The flight crew later adjusted their altitude to 25,000 feet before ultimately declaring a technical issue and initiating a turnaround while flying over the Irish Sea.
Back-to-Back Disruptions
The aircraft landed safely back at London Heathrow approximately two hours after its initial departure. Following the landing, British Airways officially canceled the flight, leaving passengers stranded as the airline worked to rebook them.
The mid-air turn back comes exactly 24 hours after a highly similar incident plagued the airline. On Thursday, July 9, British Airways Flight BA229—also operated by a Boeing 777-200 and bound for Baltimore—was forced to abort its flight path over the Atlantic and return to London Heathrow under similar circumstances.
| Date | Flight Number | Destination | Aircraft Model | Outcome |
| July 9, 2026 | BA229 | Baltimore (BWI) | Boeing 777-200 | Returned to LHR |
| July 10, 2026 | BA183 | New York (JFK) | Boeing 777-200ER | Returned to LHR & Cancelled |
British Airways has not yet specified whether the technical issues affecting the two separate flights were related, though both airframes are part of the airline’s long-haul widebody fleet. No injuries were reported in either incident, and both aircraft landed routinely despite the scheduling chaos.
