An Air Canada flight sparked an emergency scare after making a mid-air U-turn back to London Heathrow Airport shortly after departure. Flight AC853, bound for Toronto, had taken off from Heathrow at 8:34 BST on Saturday, climbing to 34,000 feet and heading over the Atlantic as normal. However, less than an hour into the journey, the crew declared an emergency, transmitting a Squawk 7700 code to alert air traffic control of a serious issue on board.
Emergency Declaration and Turnaround
The aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER, quickly abandoned its transatlantic route and executed a controlled turnaround back towards Heathrow. Emergency services were placed on standby as a precaution. The nature of the emergency has not yet been confirmed by Air Canada, with such alerts used for a range of situations including technical faults or medical incidents.
Tracking data indicates that the aircraft began its return shortly after reaching cruising altitude at around 09:15 BST, before descending back towards London. The plane safely touched down on runway 27L at approximately 10:02 BST, with landings briefly suspended on Heathrow's south runway moments later.
Passenger Experience and Aftermath
Passengers onboard were brought back to the terminal after the aircraft taxied to the gate under escort from emergency vehicles. Despite the dramatic turnaround, there have been no reports of injuries. Air Canada has since moved to reschedule the disrupted service, with a replacement departure planned for later in the morning.
Heathrow emergency crews remained on standby throughout the incident, following standard protocol for any aircraft declaring a full emergency. The incident is now expected to be reviewed, with further details anticipated from the airline and airport authorities.
