Passengers on a transatlantic British Airways flight are currently getting quite the tour across the Atlantic, with some passengers on a three-stop routing…
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British Airways flight diverts to Gander, then Keflavik
British Airways flight BA252 ordinarily operates from Grand Cayman (GCM) to Nassau (NAS) to London (LHR), with that first segment being one of the carrier’s short Caribbean hops. The flight departing last night (on Tuesday, April 8, 2025) was operated by a 28-year-old Boeing 777-200ER with the registration code G-VIID.
The flight from Grand Cayman to Nassau operated without a hitch, but sadly the same can’t be said about the transatlantic flight, from Nassau to London.
The aircraft departed Nassau roughly on schedule, at 10:24PM last night, and was supposed to arrive in London at 11:40AM this morning. The flight operated as planned for the first four hours, over the Atlantic Ocean, quite a ways off the coast of North America.
However, as the plane was about to start the main part of its Atlantic crossing, there was a medical emergency, requiring a diversion. So the aircraft ended up diverting to Gander, Canada (YQX). It arrived there at 5:02AM this morning, roughly five hours after it departed.
Once the passenger was offloaded and the aircraft refueled, it eventually departed Gander, to continue its journey across the Atlantic. The plane took off from Gander at 7:32AM local time.
There was an issue, though. The crew couldn’t operate all the way to London without timing out, given limits on the length of duty days. So operations at British Airways got creative. The aircraft then rerouted to Keflavik, Iceland (KEF), where it arrived at 1PM, roughly three hours after it departed. That got the passengers closer to their intended destination, but not quite all the way.
The plan is now for the jet to depart Keflavik at 6:15PM, arriving in London at 10PM, a bit over 10 hours behind schedule.
So, what’s the plan there? British Airways has dispatched an Airbus A321neo that has the registration code G-TNEC, with a replacement crew. The aircraft has departed London already, and is expected to land in Keflavik a little after 5PM.
When you look at the entire flight status, this is quite an itinerary, eh?
British Airways seems to be handling this situation well
Obviously medical diversions are complicated and costly for airlines. That being said, it sure seems like British Airways is doing a good job minimizing the inconvenience for passengers here. Sure, an aircraft rerouting twice is less than ideal, but it’s better than the plane potentially being stuck somewhere, and passengers having to spend the night at an airport.
There are lots of logistics that need to be taken into account here — you have labor contracts that need to be honored, and repositioning an entire crew to an airport via a charter flight takes some time. So while this isn’t ideal, it does seem like the best outcome in such a situation.
Bottom line
A British Airways 777 flying from Nassau to London had to first divert to Gander for a medical emergency, and then to Keflavik for a crew change, given that the crew would’ve otherwise timed out. Given that this was already a one stop service originating in Grand Cayman, this is making for a long day. Passengers are expected to arrive in London a little over 10 hours behind schedule.
What do you make of this British Airways double reroute?
No surprise they didn’t divert to any US airport, we are not a welcoming country now.
My lord. Get over yourself already.
They landed in Gander because it was the nearest, appropriate airport. BA lands about 80 flights a day on US soil.
Sending an A321neo just to position the replacement crew? I wonder if they added it to the schedule so some regular passengers might book onto it...
Crew hours.... I'd prefer the delay. I want my flight with alert, awake and functioning crew that in the case of an emergency are in peak form. Yes, it's a hassle, and sure the odds are low for an accident. If there was a situation after crew hours had timed out, we'd all asking why wasn't the crew altert and able to handle said situation. As for expecting comp from the airline, ah, wasn't their...
Crew hours.... I'd prefer the delay. I want my flight with alert, awake and functioning crew that in the case of an emergency are in peak form. Yes, it's a hassle, and sure the odds are low for an accident. If there was a situation after crew hours had timed out, we'd all asking why wasn't the crew altert and able to handle said situation. As for expecting comp from the airline, ah, wasn't their fault, unfortunately just bad luck. Pay the extra $$ for flight delay insurance.
Surprising they flew an A321 almost empty for the replacement crew instead of putting them on one of the afternoon IcelandAir/Easyjet flights from LHR/LGW to KEF.
You got the flight number wrong, BA 52 goes to SEA haha
I wonder if any of the passengers asked the folks in Gander for some Cod Au Gratin :)
(sorry, huge Come From Away Fan here...)
Personally I'd prefer the Screech:-)
what about compensation for passengers?
All in good time irie, what about a thought for the patient first?
Let me just repeat the insane AA diversion to DFW was some woman getting hysterical with a "panic attack". Could've been solved with strips and/or whisky.
I feel a lot worse for pax missing important moments in their lives if this turns out to be some self-centered b-word like her.
In cases like that, the person deserves to be held fully liable for all costs, including fuel costs, hotel costs, etc. in addition to receiving a lifetime ban from the airline (and, if the person faked or deliberately had a medical emergency with intent to cause a diversion and gain entry to another country, the person should face the same criminal penalties as any other illegal alien).
I’m with Ben on this topic.
Firstly, BA quite rightly prioritised the health and wellbeing of the patient without hesitation.
Secondly, they addressed the legality of the crew’s flying hours to ensure lawful flying.
Thirdly, although inconvenient for the remaining passengers, their safety was not compromised.
Well done BA, a fine example of corporate management addressing the situation successfully.
Waiting for the alter ego BA apologist to tell you how great it was to Denver.
…. so as not to disappoint a cold fish!
Hook, line, and sinker!?!
But Esk, if one failed to sink to your level in this pond without responding, how would get through the day without throwing all your toys out of the pram?
BA252. ;)
Minor point, but I'm not sure the first segment actually is 5th Freedom given that the Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory.
Came here to say the same thing. I think you're right.
They've sent G-TNEC (A321neo) on a special flight presumably with the new crew on board to cover this. Would probably have been hard to get enough seats for an entire 777 crew on the day of departure!
Funny enough a similar thing happened to me on a BA flight in 2019. Was travelling LHR-JFK on an 777 and diverted to KEF due to one of the entertainment monitors overheating and causing a smell of smoke in the cabin. After around five hours at KEF we were put on an A321 to bring us back to LHR (777 flight wasn't full so we could all squeeze on the 321). I guess it's easiest...
Funny enough a similar thing happened to me on a BA flight in 2019. Was travelling LHR-JFK on an 777 and diverted to KEF due to one of the entertainment monitors overheating and causing a smell of smoke in the cabin. After around five hours at KEF we were put on an A321 to bring us back to LHR (777 flight wasn't full so we could all squeeze on the 321). I guess it's easiest for them to dispatch A320 family aircraft at the last minute since it's the most common aircraft type in the fleet. More like to have available planes and available crews for that type
It’s all timing out. It’s just a bunch of nonsense. They can work a couple of extra hours and get some overtime. It’s not gonna hurt them and it’s certainly not gonna jeopardize the passengers on the aircraft. It’s all a bunch of nonsense Union garbage.
It’s not “Union garbage”, it’s the law and it’s done for safety.
Trust me, unions are the last ones who want this, it's not great for the crews either. Crew hours are limited by regulators for obvious safety reasons.
Maximum crew hours are mandated by EASA for safety reasons. It’s not some fast food joint where you work.
If only you can replace crew with something that doesn't get fatigue or needs rest.
Wait, the solution is already there.
Dinosaurs are not happy about it.
“Dinosaurs” like you Esk, are such entertainment value, it must be something to do with being a dinosaur of very little brain …. poor darlink.
If you don't like it, there are plenty of airlines in Africa that will bend the rules (or have bendable rules) as you suggest.
For the rest of us, a slippery slope is behind the vast majority of deadly accidents. Zero tolerance it the only thing that works with safety, and we're glad that it's there.
Mary, can you name these ‘African’ airlines you know so much about? Please enlighten us.