British Airways has agreed to pay compensation to some of the passengers whose connecting flights were delayed last year when its Airbus A319 aircraft had to make an emergency landing at Heathrow International Airport, London on May 24.
Both the engine doors of Flight BA762 to Oslo blew off and right one caught fire, shortly after taking off from Heathrow. The passengers evacuated through escape slides. One of the two runways remained blocked for more than 3 hours.
BA initially denied any compensation and maintained that the incident was due to exceptional circumstances beyond its control.
However, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch revealed that the retaining latches to hold the engine doors in place were not closed, so this is human error. Therefore, the passengers who were delayed for more than three hours are entitled for compensation between €250 and €600 from the airline, said solicitors Bott & Co.
After the incident, nine other passengers have also filed a lawsuit against aircraft manufacturer Airbus and the engine maker International Aero Engines.
Air Nelson flight NA-8117 had to return and make a safe emergency landing at Auckland Airport, Auckland, New Zealand, on July 9th.