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Virgin Atlantic Flight Turns Back After Realizing Pilot Had Not Completed Training

Published

2 years ago

May 5, 2022

Virgin Atlantic Flight Turns Back Due To Pilot Not Completing Training

A Virgin Atlantic flight headed to New York’s JFK Airport turned back to London after it emerged that a pilot hadn’t completed the airline’s final flying test.

The transatlantic flight packed with passengers was 40 minutes into their journey Monday when a “rostering error” emerged.

This lead to the flight returning to London, so that the co-pilot could be swapped out.

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A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said in a statement: “The qualified first officer, who was flying alongside an experienced captain, was replaced with a new pilot to ensure full compliance with Virgin Atlantic’s training protocols, which exceed industry standards.”

Passengers on the flight eventually arrived in New York nearly 3 hours later than scheduled. According to the Daily Mail, the passengers were not compensated for the delay.

This is because compensation is only provided if a flight arrives four hours late and the company is responsible.