Laser beam incident forces New York-bound flight to turn around
A Virgin Atlantic flight from London Heathrow to JFK New York had to turn around and make landing back at Heathrown airport following an incident where a laser pen was shon at the pilot. To see more please follow this link.
The incident occurred six or seven miles west of Heathrow, causing passengers a significant delay to the start of their holiday. Virgin Atlantic offered overnight accommodation and new flights to all passengers affected by the delay.
The airline is working with authorities to confirm the source of the laser.
It is a criminal offence to “shine a light at an aircraft in flight so as to dazzle the pilot”, yet the pilots’ union has called for more action to prevent laser attacks.
A total of 414 “laser incidents” in the UK were reported to the UK Civil Aviation Authority between January and June 2015. If you have suffered a flight delay please contact us now to claim.
