An Air India flight bound for Birmingham was forced to declare a mid-air emergency and divert to London after severe winter weather made landing impossible.
Flight forced into holding pattern by storm
Flight AI117, operating from Amritsar in Punjab, India, issued the international emergency code 'Squawk 7700' on Thursday, 8 January 2026. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was on its final approach to Birmingham Airport when the crisis unfolded. It had been in a sustained holding pattern due to the treacherous conditions brought by Storm Goretti, which blanketed the Midlands in heavy snow.
The snowfall drastically reduced visibility to below 500 metres, which was under the legal minimum required for a safe landing. According to flight tracking data, the aircraft ultimately abandoned its approach near Leamington Spa and turned towards London.
'Minimum fuel' situation triggers priority handling
Aviation sources confirmed the emergency was triggered by a 'minimum fuel' situation. The extended holding pattern had depleted the aircraft's reserves to a level where attempting another approach or diverting to an alternate airport was no longer considered safe.
By declaring the emergency, the flight received priority handling from Air Traffic Control (ATC). It was rerouted to London Heathrow Airport, which is equipped with longer runways and advanced Category III instrument landing systems. These systems allow for landings in extremely poor visibility, providing a much higher safety margin for an aircraft with limited fuel.
The Air India Dreamliner landed safely at Heathrow without further incident.
Birmingham Airport suspends all operations
In response to the severe weather, Birmingham Airport took the decision to suspend all runway operations on Thursday evening. An airport statement read: "Due to heavy snow, runway operations are currently suspended." They advised passengers to contact their airlines for the latest flight information.
The disruption was widespread, with flights to and from destinations including Paris, Bergamo, Geneva, Delhi, Edinburgh, Belfast, and Amsterdam facing cancellations and significant delays.
Snow clearance and safety checks continued into the early hours of Friday, 9 January. A 5:10 am update on the airport's Facebook page stated that while runway operations remained suspended, passenger security processing had commenced. The airport reiterated that the safety of customers and staff was its top priority.
