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02:48
British Airways flight from UK to Dubai diverts after Trump bombs Iran’s nuclear sites
A British Airways flight from UK to Dubai was forced to divert after Donald Trump launched a US attack on Iran.
BA flight 109 from London Heathrow to the Gulf hub took off at 9.53pm on Saturday (21 June) and flew normally for almost five hours towards Dubai.
But at 2.48am British time, about 90 minutes before touchdown at Dubai, the aircraft turned around and retraced its course due to the fresh attacks in the Middle East.
The flight had been fuelled only for the journey to Dubai with a contingency for diversion – but could not make it all the way back to London. Instead, the pilots landed at Zurich airport, which is 480 miles from Heathrow.
The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder explains more.
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