British Airways has confirmed that a Concorde jet had to divert to Cardiff airport last night after “backfiring” three quarters of the way across the Atlantic Ocean.

The aircraft was flying from New York to Heathrow when one of its four engines had a power surge; the rest of the flight was subsonic, which uses more fuel, and the decision was taken to land at Cardiff International Airport. The 99 passengers were transferred to Heathrow by coach.

 

A British Airways spokesman reportedly told the Daily Mail: “As a result of a temporary power surge the aircraft flew subsonic for the rest of the journey. Flying subsonic means using more fuel, so the decision was made to divert to the nearest UK airport, which was Cardiff.”
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