BA cancels New York flight over bird in cockpit
A British Airways London Heathrow-New York flight had to be canceled when crew were unable to remove a blackbird from the cockpit.
Cabin crew spent ‘several hours’ trying to remove the creature, including using a recording of birds in distress to try to scare it away, according to reports.
But the frightened bird hid and could not be found, so the decision was made to cancel the flight, on Monday, and transfer passengers to a later departure.
One passenger told the Guardian passengers were kept informed about what was happening, with regular updates by the captain, such as "Our feathered friend is still at large," and "If you happen to hear strange noises, please do not be alarmed".
BA said: "When it comes to flying, we’re the experts, so it’s not surprising this bird wanted to hitch a ride on one of our 12 daily flights to New York. We could not help him out this time, but after a short delay we made sure our non-feathered customers got to the Big Apple as soon as we could."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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