After the team discovered a structural issue with one of the aircraft's rooms, a Delta Air Lines flight traveling between Paris and Seattle had to make an unscheduled landing in London.
Delta Flight 81 had taken off on August 13 from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, bound for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington.
When the circumstances necessitated the modification of the plan, the Airbus A330-900 aircraft was carrying 209 people and 13 team members.
The team told air traffic controllers to call an emergency because the planes would have to get with a heavier object than normal and the plane was diverted to London Heathrow airport.
Despite the disaster declaration, the aircraft made a normal and secure landing in London.
Delta confirmed a failure related to one of the bathrooms
The airline explained that the crew had reported a mechanical problem related to a bathroom on the plane.
Once at Heathrow, Delta maintenance personnel inspected and serviced the aircraft to try to resolve the fault before it could continue its journey.
“We apologize to our customers for their experience and the delay,” a Delta spokesperson said in explaining the flight diversion.
The company indicated that its priority was to get passengers to their destinations “as quickly and safely as possible.”
Delta did not provide additional details about the exact nature of the mechanical failure or specify what repairs were necessary for the plane to continue operating.
The plane had to change route again.
The detour to London was not the only change passengers faced.
After maintenance work was completed at Heathrow, the Airbus A330-900 took off again. However, it was unable to head directly to Seattle due to restrictions related to the duty time available to the crew.
The aircraft then flew to New York, where it landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Passengers had to go through US Customs checkpoints at JFK before continuing their journey to Seattle.
An emergency that ended without injuries
Although the crew declared an emergency before landing at Heathrow due to the condition of the plane, the maneuver was carried out safely.
No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.
The situation, however, caused delays and forced passengers to make an unexpected stopover in the United Kingdom and later another in the United States before reaching their final destination on the west coast.
