Flight turns back mid-air - because pilot's shift ended

Updated
Flight turns back to airport mid-air - because cabin crew's shift ended
Flight turns back to airport mid-air - because cabin crew's shift ended

The plane had almost landed in the picturesque town of Mosjoen: Getty


A plane carrying 40 passengers in Norway turned around and returned to an airport hundreds of miles away - despite having started its descent - just so the crew would not have to work overtime.

The Norwegian plane was about to land in the northern town of Mosjoen when it turned around and flew back to Trondheim, around 350km south, according to the Khaleej Times.

Company Wideroe, a regional carrier owned by Scandinavian airline SAS, said that the last-minute decision was based on Norway's strict working time regulations.

A spokesman for the company, Richard Kongsteien, told local newspaper Rana Blad: "Unfortunately, the plane took off with a crew that was about to clock out. We have strict working hours that are imposed by the authorities, which we cannot exceed.

"If the airplane had landed, it would have had to stay in Mosjoen since we didn't have a back-up crew there, and the schedule for the rest of the evening would have had to be cancelled."

He added that this would have affected more than 200 passengers.

We've heard of planes turning back because pilots have become dizzy, or because of a bird strike, or due to a mid-air passenger fight, but working hours is a first on us...

Cabin crew aren't the only ones who have diva moments:

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