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Flight to Düsseldorf Accidentally Lands in Edinburgh, 500 Miles in the Wrong Direction

News Airports + Flying
by Eben Diskin Mar 25, 2019

A plane touching down on a runway is one of the best feelings for a traveler, but touching down at the wrong airport might be one of the worst. On Monday, a British Airways flight departed from London City Airport and landed safely in Edinburgh. The only problem was that the destination was supposed to be Düsseldorf, Germany. The 500-mile mistake in the flight plan supposedly occurred due to incorrectly submitted paperwork. Passengers only realized the mistake when the plane announcement said, “Welcome to Edinburgh.”

According to Sophie Cooke, a 24-year-old management consultant who flies the route often, the crew only realized the mistake when she asked a flight attendant if they were joking. She told the BBC that, “The pilot said he had no idea how it had happened. He said it had never happened before and that the crew was trying to work out what we could do.”

The plane did eventually bring the passengers to Düsseldorf, but not before it sat on the Edinburgh tarmac for two and a half hours with a blocked toilet and no snacks.

According to The Guardian, passengers will receive financial compensation of about $280. A British Airways spokesperson said that they were further investigating the cause of the incident and apologized for the mistake.

H/T: BBC News

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