A Lufthansa passenger jet was forced to return to Heathrow Airport shortly after take-off on Monday following a technical fault that triggered an emergency alert. The Airbus A320neo, bound for Munich, Germany, departed at 11:30am but turned back while climbing to 14,000 feet.
The flight crew transmitted the international distress code Squawk 7700, indicating a general emergency. According to the Aviation Herald, the incident may have involved a fire in the left engine. The runway was vacated and the aircraft stopped on a parallel taxiway for inspection by emergency services before taxiing to the apron.
Passengers reported that the crew indicated the left-hand engine needed to be shut down due to a fire warning. Lufthansa confirmed the return was due to technical issues, and passengers were rebooked onto the next flight.
This incident follows a similar Squawk 7700 alert last week when an Air India flight en route to Birmingham Airport diverted over Leamington Spa and headed towards London instead.
