Virgin Atlantic flight forced to return to London after laser shone at cockpit

Aircraft turned back after 25 minutes

Flight had to turn back to Heathrow (Getty Images)

A Virgin Atlantic flight had to return to London after a laser was shone at the cockpit.

The service to Tel Aviv on 15 March was forced to turn around after the incident occurred, while the aircraft was flying over Paris.

Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 shows that flight VS453 took off four minutes later than scheduled on Monday at 9.34pm, and was due to arrive in Tel Aviv at 4.15am.

However, it instead diverted to Heathrow after just 25 minutes in the air.

“On 15 March 2021 flight VS453, operating from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, returned to Heathrow after take-off due to a laser beam incident upon departure,” a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told The Independent.

Read more: 

• Man who bought €1 house in Sicily urges others to do the same
• When can we travel again? Key lockdown easing dates
• What is a Covid vaccine passport and how do you get one?

“The safety and security of our people and our customers is paramount and this was a precautionary step taken by the operating crew.

“We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

They added: “As is standard procedure for a laser incident, we swiftly notified the police and remain in close contact with them and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).”

All customers were offered overnight accommodation and the airline said it is “working hard to ensure they are able to continue their journeys as soon as possible”.

It follows a similar incident on a Virgin Atlantic flight in 2016.

A London-New York service in February had to turn back to Heathrow soon after it passed over the west coast of Ireland when a laser was shone at the cockpit.

The carrier said at the time, “Following this incident the first officer reported feeling unwell. The decision was taken by both pilots to return to Heathrow rather than continue the transatlantic crossing.”