Daniel is a copywriter who has well and truly been bitten alive by the 'travel bug'. After ticking off several North American National Parks and exploring Europe by train, his sights are now set on South East Asia. Usually with at least one camera locked and loaded, you'll find Daniel wherever there are mountains, lakes or beaches.
Passengers aboard a British Airways flight were left shocked when smoke was reported in the cabin of their plane, according to Aviation Herald, a website that logs aviation incidents.
The Airbus A380-800 was forced to make a U-turn just 35 minutes into its flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, to London Heathrow.
With over 400 passengers onboard, the short flight was a frightening experience for most on board. Henry Graham was one of the unlucky travelers; he reported the incident as a “horrible, scary situation for all involved.”
Captain and crew handled the situation well, but other passengers were less than polite in their response.
Edward Burke was traveling with two young children and later shared his experience on Twitter, claiming how some first First Class passengers displayed a lack of respect for others around them.
8. An upset South African lady with her children told us how First Class passengers pushed their way past her and other parents with young kids shouting "We're First Class". Not exactly Titanic spirit.
— Edward Burke (@Edward__Burke) July 15, 2023
He also mentions how they “could see a trail of vapours from one wing – possibly the fuel which the pilot had dumped (?) while making a low approach to the emergency landing on the runway at JNB.”
Once the plane landed, emergency services assessed the aircraft before it was taken to the terminal. During this period, Burke reported, “That is when the over-heating among passengers occurred in the cabin due to lack of oxygen/limited air supply.”
Summarising the entire experience, Burke stated, “Some people were kind, courteous but others were remarkably selfish, skipping slow-moving families to jump queues etc. You learn a lot about human nature during such times.”
No one was harmed during the incident, but many passengers were left frightened and back in the location they were hoping to leave.
Speaking to The Independent, a British Airways spokesperson said: “Our pilots returned to Johannesburg as a precaution due to a minor technical issue, and the aircraft landed normally. We apologised to our customers for the disruption to their journey and our teams worked hard to get everyone on their way as planned.”