Passengers have been left terrified after a window reportedly cracked during an international flight.
British Airways Flight BA2660 was travelling from London to Faro in Portugal when it was forced to U-turn.
The plane took off around 9am local time.
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Less than one hour into the flight, while travelling over north-west France, the Airbus A321 reported a technical issue and returned to London Gatwick, the BBC reported.
Before landing, the aircraft sent a 7700 emergency code to air traffic control, which is typically used to signal technical or mechanical problems, but can refer to any type of emergency.
Flight data provider AirNav Radar wrote on X that the diversion was because “a passenger window is cracked”.
“Flight deck going through checks before deciding (where) to divert,” they added.
The page later wrote that the incident had been declared “an emergency”.
A spokesperson for British Airways told the BBC that the plane had landed safely after a “minor technical issue”.
“We have apologised to customers for the delay to their journey, and our teams are working hard to get their travel plans back on track,” they said.
Aviation outlet Airlive wrote that structural damage to a window on the right side of the plane near row 3R was detected.
It is understood there was no impact on cabin pressure within the aircraft.
The incident comes months after a passenger was left seriously injured after broken engine fragments smashed through the window of a Ryanair plane, causing his head and shoulder to be sucked partially outside the aircraft.
