Chennai: A Chennai-bound British Airways flight returned to London mid-air on Sunday, June 15, due to a technical snag, the airline confirmed.

The flight, operated using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, safely landed back at Heathrow Airport after remaining airborne for nearly two hours.

British Airways stated that the aircraft "returned to Heathrow as a standard precaution after reports of a technical issue" and confirmed that passengers and crew disembarked safely.

This incident comes in the wake of a devastating crash involving an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad on June 12, which claimed 270 lives, including those on the ground.

Flight tracking data from Flightradar24.com shows that British Airways flight BA35, scheduled to depart London Heathrow at 12:40 PM, eventually took off at 1:16 PM. It was en route to Chennai and due to arrive at 3:30 AM IST. However, after completing multiple holding patterns, the aircraft returned to Heathrow.

The airline has not disclosed the number of passengers or the nature of the technical issue.

Meanwhile, a separate Lufthansa flight bound for Hyderabad from Frankfurt also returned mid-air to its origin on Sunday. Flight LH752, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, departed Frankfurt at 2:29 PM, over an hour later than scheduled. The reason for its air turnback remains unclear.

The recurrence of Dreamliner-related turnbacks has prompted concerns in aviation circles, especially in the context of ongoing investigations into the Ahmedabad crash.

British Airways said it is working to rebook affected passengers and resume normal operations as quickly as possible.