A British Airways flight was forced to turn back to Heathrow after more than eight hours in the air in the early hours of this morning.

Flight BA247 set off from London to Sao Paolo at 3.49pm on Tuesday.

But eight hours and 37 minutes later the Boeing-777 was back on the tarmac at Heathrow after turning back over the Atlantic. 

British Airways confirmed the flight, which was carrying freight, had to return to the airport due to a ‘minor technical issue’.

Flight data shows the plane took off nine minutes late and was cruising at more than 30,000ft when it encountered problems at around 7pm.

The flight was due to land at Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport at 23.45UTC – but by 12.26am on Wednesday it was back where it started.

Flight records show the aircraft makes the UK to Brazil journey regularly, most recently on June 27.

In the last week the plane has also completed trips from London to New York and Singapore.

A BA spokesperson said: ‘Safety is always our priority, and after an indication of a minor technical issue our experienced pilots made the decision to return the freighter service to Heathrow as a precaution.’

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