A Virgin Atlantic flight that departed London to Tel Aviv on Monday night was forced to turn back 20 minutes after takeoff when a laser beam hit the cockpit, temporarily blinding the pilot.
The plane landed safely at Heathrow Aiport and the passengers were given overnight accommodations in local hotels prior to a later flight.
A statement from a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said that the flight “returned to Heathrow after take-off due to a laser beam incident upon departure. The safety and security of our people and our customers is paramount and this was a precautionary step taken by the operating crew.”
INCIDENT: Virgin Atlantic #VS453 London Heathrow to Tel Aviv (Boeing 787-9 G-VDIA) turned back SW of Paris & has just returned to LHR. Declared Pan Pan with ATC. Reason not yet known.https://t.co/yHyixUbBjH pic.twitter.com/lmKL0FGxRC
— Airport Webcams (@AirportWebcams) March 15, 2021
“We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and apologize for any inconvenience caused. All customers were offered overnight accommodation and we are working hard to ensure they are able to continue their journeys as soon as possible.”
On March 15, #VirginAtlantic Boeing 787-9 (G-VDIA), flight #VS453 from #London to #TelAviv had to returned back at #Heathrow Airport after someone targeted the cockpit with laser beam upon departure. The crew declared Pan-Pan above Paris, made a u-turn and flew back to London. pic.twitter.com/QRv3Y4LYQM
— FlightMode (@FlightModeblog) March 16, 2021
“As is standard procedure for a laser incident, we swiftly notified the police and remain in close contact with them and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
YWN reported the wrong story. The real story is what happened to the people waiting in TLV for that flight to arrive so VS454 could fly to LHR and wherever their travels would further lead them.
All the passengers in TLV were neglected by Virgin Atlantic as their flight was pushed off from 3/16 6:05AM to 7:05PM and then again to 3/17 605AM.