Delays and cancellations are all too commonplace in today’s air traffic landscape. Unfortunately, weather, maintenance issues, and civil disturbances can shut down the best-laid travel plans. However, passengers staring at the dreaded “canceled” label on the departures screen can theoretically rebook and get back underway. Frustratingly, the passengers on this British Airways flight didn’t have that luxury after spending nearly 10 hours on a flight to nowhere.

A British Airways flight turned around and headed home due to a technical issue– making it a nine-and-a-half-hour ‘flight to nowhere’

As planned, a British Airways flight aboard a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner took off from London Heathrow on Monday morning. The Houston-bound airplane should have lasted around 10 hours. However, just as the flight crossed the Canadian border, the plane turned around and returned to London.

Tragically, the decision to turn around sent them back to London Heathrow, despite being over North America. By the time the Boeing 787-9 was on the ground at Heathrow, passengers had spent about 9 hours and 27 minutes in the air, per the Independent. To add to the passengers’ frustrations, that flight time is only 30 minutes or so longer than the typical British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Houton’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

According to the airline, a “minor technical issue” prompted the return trip and landing. However, further details later indicated that the issue pertained to the aircraft’s engines. Moreover, the “minor technical issue” arrives as some of the latest bad news surrounding Boeing’s aircraft. 

Still, that part of the passengers’ travel nightmare came to a close with a safe landing back at London Heathrow at 6:54 AM the following morning. British Airways released this statement on the subject, “The flight returned to London Heathrow as a precaution due to a minor technical issue. It landed safely and customers disembarked as normal.”