Prince Edward and Sophie of Wessex’s plane makes surprise U-turn following technical issue

The royal couple are visiting Gibraltar for the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations

(REUTERS)

A British Airways (BA) plane heading towards Gibraltar with the Earl and Countess of Wessex on board has made a surprise U-turn back to Heathrow Airport due to a “minor technical issue”.

Prince Edward and Sophie of Wessex were on their way to the British overseas territory when their pilots decided to turn around to fix the problem.

The royal couple were due to land in Gibraltar later this afternoon for a walk down Main Street from the Convent to City Hall at 4pm, according to reports.

The U-turn was first reported by Gibraltar’s national broadcaster, GBC News, who said in a tweet that a “technical delay forced the flight to return to Heathrow earlier today”.

BA’s flight tracker showed that the flight was supposed to arrive in Gibraltar at 2.35pm, but the arrival time has now been delayed until 7.12pm.

A spokesperson for the airline told The Independent: “Our pilots decided to return to Heathrow as a precaution due to a minor technical issue, and the aircraft landed normally.

“The issue has now been fixed and the aircraft is due to depart again shortly. We’d like to thank customers for their patience and understanding.”

The Wessexes’ three-day visit to Gibraltar is part of the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations.

They are scheduled to see the Royal Gibraltar Regiment display its new colours during the Queen’s Birthday Parade, which were approved by the monarch.

In March, Edward presented the colours at a ceremony in Windsor Castle.

However, Spain has issued a formal protest to the UK government over the royal couple’s visit, according to GBC.

The broadcaster reported sources as saying that the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs “expressed its disapproval of the visit” as it comes amid continued post-Brexit talks about the country’s future with the European Union (EU).

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory, but has a land border with Spain. Last year, both the British and Spanish government said more time was needed to come to an agreement over Gibraltar’s future relationship with the EU.

Earlier this month, the Wessexes visited Northern Ireland to celebrate the Queen’s jubilee, starting their tour in Belfast and ending in Bangor in County Down.