On 25 February, a British Airways Airbus A320 (G-EUUY) operated flight BA492 between London Heathrow and Gibraltar. During their final approach, however, the pilots encountered heavy winds and performed a go-around. After the procedure, the pilots then opted for a diversion to Malaga, Spain. The subsequent return flight from Gibraltar to Heathrow was cancelled.
Strong winds around the famous rock of Gibraltar are common, when the wind blows through the Strait of Gibraltar, it is called the Viento de Levante or the Levanter. It is also known as the Solano.
Shortly after, some movies appeared on social media showing the British Airways aircraft heavily banking left and right just after the go-around. One passenger was able to film the procedure. A British Airways spokeswoman explains: “The flight has landed safely and passengers have left the aircraft normally. Due to strong winds in the Gibraltar area, our pilots decided to land in Malaga as a precaution. The safety of our customers and crew is always our number one priority.”
A few hours later, the aircraft departed from Malaga back to London Heathrow.
Another angle of #BA492 today in LXGB Gibraltar, not my video but u found it on local social media group @KayBurley pic.twitter.com/zDhkGMpahZ
— Rob (@korkibucek) February 25, 2019
That’s some serious banking…? Even when on a delivery flight and our aircraft performs wing-wave, it isn’t as sharp pic.twitter.com/6gFiUz0i5V
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) February 25, 2019
The #BA492 videos continue folks! Here's a passenger view from the right side of the aircraft during unstable go-around at Gibraltar. https://t.co/UKrWQ1jnTT pic.twitter.com/OQIJpN0ncr
— Breaking Aviation News (@breakingavnews) February 25, 2019
To everyone asking about todays windshear go around video. Gibraltar has some unique challenges that can on occasion produce unusual, but predicted, turbulent wind patterns due to the proximity of the Rock. These can be extreme in high winds. Airlines train for this specifically pic.twitter.com/YzdfMAdRZZ
— Scott Bateman (@jumbo747pilot) February 25, 2019
SA 25/02/2019 11:50-> METAR LXGB 251150Z 09022KT 9999 FEW022 SCT025 16/10 Q1032
SA 25/02/2019 10:50-> METAR LXGB 251050Z 09023G33KT 9999 FEW025 16/10 Q1032 NOSIG=
SA 25/02/2019 09:50-> METAR LXGB 250950Z 08026G36KT 9999 FEW022 16/10 Q1032 TEMPO SCT022=