Three Tui aircraft bound for Barbados turned around in mid-Atlantic and returned to their UK starting points after air safety warnings in the wake of the US military action in Venezuela.
Boeing 787 aircraft from Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester turned back on Saturday afternoon after spending around four hours in the air. Studying data from Flightradar24, it appears an instruction was given to turn back at 1.45pm GMT. All three aircraft made a 180-degree turn minutes later.
The aircraft that was closest to its destination was BY830 from Birmingham, which was over halfway when the plane turned back. Passengers spent over eight hours in the air.
BY10 from Gatwick and BY162 from Manchester had taken off later. Both were in the vicinity of the Azores when they turned back.
The decision was taken after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency “Notam” (Notice to Air Missions) instructing aircraft to avoid parts of the Caribbean. US transportation secretary Sean Duffy posted on X: “Early this morning in support of the Department of War, the FAA restricted the airspace in the Caribbean and Venezuela to ensure the SAFETY of the flying public.
“When appropriate, these airspace restrictions will be lifted. Please work with your airlines directly if your flight has been impacted.
“God bless President Trump and the United States military.”
The Notam applied from 6am GMT, well before any of the Tui flights was airborne. It expired at 7pm GMT the same day.
A spokesperson for Tui told The Independent: “The flights have returned to the UK due to active Notams concerning Caribbean airspace. Today‘s flight are taking place as scheduled since the Notam expired this morning.”
The decision left almost 1,000 Tui holidaymakers stranded in Barbados waiting to return after Christmas and New Year holidays.
Under air passengers’ rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible on any airline, and to be provided with meals and hotels as necessary.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “We are aware of restrictions affecting Venezuelan airspace following recent geopolitical developments in the region. Currently, there is no impact to our operations. The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority, and we are closely monitoring the situation alongside relevant authorities.”
The Dutch airline KLM has grounded Caribbean flights serving Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Barbados, Georgetown, Port of Spain and Sint Maarten “due to the security situation in Venezuela”.
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