An Air Canada flight bound for Canada was forced to make a sudden U-turn over the Atlantic Ocean on Monday afternoon, returning to London Heathrow Airport just over two hours after departure.
LONDON — Air Canada Flight AC865, operated by an Airbus A330-300 (registration C-GKUG), took off from Heathrow at 2:00 PM BST, embarking on a scheduled seven-hour transatlantic journey to Montréal–Trudeau International Airport.
After climbing smoothly to a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet over the UK and crossing Ireland, the aircraft began its initial oceanic transit over the Atlantic. However, roughly 50 minutes into the flight, the flight crew made the decision to abort the crossing and turn back toward London.
Flight tracking data showed the wide-body jet executing a 180-degree turn over the water before retracing its route back across the British Isles. The aircraft touched down safely on Runway 27R at Heathrow approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes after its initial takeoff.
While air turnbacks are often associated with mechanical issues or medical emergencies, Air Canada indicated a different cause for the disruption. The airline subsequently rescheduled the flight for a 6:00 PM BST departure, notifying passengers that the delay was due to “immigration, customs, or health measures.”
No emergency was declared, and the aircraft landed without further incident. Passengers remained at Heathrow while airline staff worked to process the regulatory requirements and prepare the aircraft for its second departure attempt.
