A plane taking off from London for New York was forced to retrace its steps while on its way to the US, the plane was over Ireland when the captain was told that the co-pilot had not finished his training.
The British airline Virgin Atlantic has apologized to hundreds of passengers after their flight was delayed. The plane took off on Monday from Heathrow Airport in London for New York, but after 40 minutes the plane returned to London to replace the co-pilot who was not yet finalized.
The company said the problem was misleading and apologized, but clarified that there was no safety issue, but the plane returned because these were company procedures. According to reports in the UK, the flight to New York was forced to return to Heathrow after the co-pilot admitted he had not passed his last flight test.
Passengers landed in the U.S. nearly three hours later than planned after the plane, which could carry nearly 300 passengers, had to wait on the runway while a certified replacement was found. Final ‘with’ Captain Training ‘to be able to fly in accordance with the’ Virgin Atlantic ‘policy. His role as co-pilot means he was responsible for maintaining flight safety.
The company said the co-pilot, who flew alongside an experienced captain, was replaced by a new pilot to “ensure full compliance with Virgin Atlantic training protocols” that exceed industry standards. It added: “We apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers who arrived two hours and 40 minutes later than planned as a result of the staff change.” The flight took off from Heathrow at 9:41 a.m. Monday, and the turnaround began at 10:19 a.m., then it landed back at Heathrow at 11:12 p.m. And after two hours took off again for New York.