Passengers were 'seriously scared' as British Airways jet made emergency landing

Passengers on flight BA6252 from East London to Johannesburg got a fright on Sunday when the landing gear failed to retract on a British Airways (BA) passenger jet.

BA spokesperson Stephen Forbes said after take-off at 9am the aircraft had to return to King Phalo Airport.

There were 111 passengers on board.

“Our trained crew made the decision to return to East London after experiencing a technical problem.

“The landing gear failed to retract. On the aircraft’s return to the airport, the British Airways — operated by Comair — manager on duty at King Phalo Airport and her team met the ... passengers who were on board.

“We were able to accommodate passengers on a later flight on Sunday.

“Some passengers opted to have their flight tickets rebooked for another date. The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” he said.

None of the passengers on board were injured, but some shared their experience on social media.

@siphumze tweeted: “As a passenger on that flight, I'm glad my feet are on the ground again. I use humour to process things, but I was seriously scared. Silver lining — the pilots did a great job in deciding to go back to East London and landed us safely.” 

@LeesaMashalaba tweeted: "Our 9am flight ... to Johannesburg took a U-turn 30 mins in the air back to East London. We just got in the aircraft now to Johannesburg and no compensation or meal vouchers after being at the airport for more than 9 hours.”

@_Nantsika said: “DO NOT FLY @British_Airways, I repeat DO NOT! I've just spent 9+ hours at the airport. Our flight from East London to Jhb made a Uturn on air and we spent 9+ hours. No communication, no water, no food just rudeness and ignorance from staff.” 

@NokubongaTwetwa said passengers did not know what the issue was until they asked.

Power 98.7 presenter @ThabisoTema said the event was nerve-racking.

In a second tweet he said: “About twenty minutes into the flight. Turns out the landing gear wouldn’t go up. There’s no spare aircraft available and the next available flight is at 18h00. But wait there’s more ... there are only 34 seats open on that one!”

Sister publication DispatchLIVE reported that Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane was also on the flight.

TimesLIVE