A British Airways Boeing 747-400 underwent an emergency landing at London’s Heathrow Airport yesterday after developing a fault.

An airlines spokesman said that BA flight 010, which flew from Sydney to London via Bangkok, suffered a ‘minor technical fault’ with its hydraulic system.

The Boeing 747-400 landed safely just before 7am yesterday morning and was towed at to a stand at Terminal 3 as a precaution.

The spokesman said: “The safety of customers, crew and aircraft is of paramount importance.”

Passengers were told to remain on board the aircraft for about an hour after landing, and engineers were to begin examining the fault after the plane had been empty, the spokesman added.

The technical fault comes at a bad for the struggling airline, which has recently rested 20 Boeing 747 and 757 aircraft from service due to a decline in passenger numbers, stripped back full service on flights under two hours, and reported a £148 loss for the last quarter.

Quotes from the BBC.  For more information, visit their website www.bbcnews.com