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   British Airways had to split an Airbus A380 flight from Johannesburg to London   
   Heathrow on Friday evening due to technical problems and a potential operating   
   hours overrun. The aircraft made a stopover in Madrid en route, where   
   passengers were flown on smaller aircraft to the United Kingdom.   
       
   Nearly 470 passengers were scheduled to fly back to London Heathrow on flight   
   BA54. However, the departure time was postponed several times because the   
   A380, registration G-XLEA, encountered technical problems, PYOK reports.   
       
   Ultimately, the A380 was unable to depart until around 5:00 AM local time,   
   some seven hours later than planned. Because the delay would have caused the   
   crew to exceed their duty hours, this flight could not be operated in one go.   
   Furthermore, British Airways had no backup crew available in Johannesburg.   
       
   British Airways then decided to make a stopover in Madrid. While the A380 was   
   en route to Madrid, British Airways flew in A321s to pick up some of the   
   passengers there. These aircraft can seat 218 passengers. The remaining   
   passengers were distributed between regular British Airways and Iberia flights   
   from Madrid to London Heathrow.   
      
   --- DB4 - 20230201   
    * Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)   
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