Passengers endured a 9-hour flight to nowhere after a Boeing 777 developed a problem over the Atlantic

• A British Airways level turned astir midway done a 10-hour journey.
• The passengers were walking to Costa Rica, but ended up backmost successful London.
• Diverting backmost to an airline's hub tin make it simpler to reroute passengers aliases make repairs.

A British Airways level turned astir while halfway crossed nan Atlantic Ocean, meaning passengers endured a nine-hour flight to nowhere.

The Boeing 777 near London connected Tuesday greeting for San José successful Costa Rica.

Data from Flightradar24 shows nan formation departed astir 30 minutes late. Nearly 5 hours into nan journey, nan Boeing 777 made a crisp U-turn complete nan water and headed backmost toward Europe.

The level landed backmost astatine London Gatwick astir 9 hours aft takeoff. The formation to Costa Rica typically takes astir 10 hours.

Overall, nan level flew astir 4,000 miles.

"We're sorry for nan hold successful our customers' recreation plans aft their craft knowledgeable a insignificant method issue," a British Airways spokesperson told Business Insider.

"Our teams looked aft our customers during nan hold and worked difficult to get them connected their measurement arsenic quickly arsenic possible."

It was not nan first clip successful caller months that BA passengers person suffered a formation to nowhere.

In June, a Boeing 787s turned astir aft flying 2,300 miles to Canada's Newfoundland aft a method problem was detected.

Diversions tin beryllium a nuisance for passengers and costly for airlines.

It's comparatively communal for British Airways flights to return to a London airdrome hub erstwhile a method rumor arises arsenic it's easier and cheaper to rearrange replacement flights and repair nan the aircraft.

The Boeing 777 progressive successful Tuesday's U-turn was flying again nan pursuing day, per Flightradar24.

For European carriers, a formation to obscurity is apt preferable to nan business involving an Air France pitchy successful May. A burning smell successful nan compartment prompted an emergency landing successful Canada's acold north — causing a different formation to beryllium canceled to rescue nan passengers.