British Airways flight forced to make emergency landing at Heathrow after 'fumes observed in cockpit'

A British Airways flight to Prague was forced to make an emergency landing back in the UK after fumes were “observed in the cockpit”, according to reports.

The plane took off from Heathrow Airport at 7.25am on Sunday morning and had been due to land in Prague just after 10am.

The flight had to reverse course while over Dover, just half an hour into its journey, and it landed back at Heathrow at 8.41am.

Footage shared online shows several fire engines rushing towards the plane after it landed.

A British Airways spokesperson said the pilots returned due to a “technical issue”, though they did not specify what that was.

They added: “We're sorry for the delay in our customers' journey after the aircraft returned to Heathrow as a precaution. 

“Our teams looked after them whilst they waited to board a replacement aircraft to continue their journey.”

Heathrow Airport and the London Fire Brigade have been contacted for comment.