Virgin Atlantic flight from JFK to Heathrow is canceled ‘after catering service car crashed into plane’s engine and became wedged underneath’
A trans-Atlantic flight from JFK to Heathrow was cancelled after a catering car rolled into the plane’s engine and caused damage to its casing.
A bizarre image circulating online shows a white car with ‘Gategourmet’ branding on the side wedged beneath the Airbus A350, which aviation bloggers claimed was the reason why the Virgin Atlantic flight from New York City to London was grounded on Monday.
The company confirmed that the flight had been canceled after an incident at the gate at JFK.
In a statement provided to DailyMail.com, the airliner said it involved ‘the engine cowling of a stationary aircraft and a catering service provider’s car that rolled into it.’
‘We can confirm that no customers were on board the aircraft during this time,’ they reportedly added.
A Virgin Atlantic flight from JFK to Heathrow was cancelled after a catering car rolled into the plane’s engine and caused damage to its casing (stock photo)
JFK airport’s flight tracker shows the Virgin Atlantic flight from JFK to Heathrow was cancelled on Monday morning
The airline reportedly opened an investigation into the incident and was looking into whether there had been any damage to the aircraft.
The jet, registered as G-VDOT, parked at JFK’s gate A terminal 4 on Sunday night at 10.30pm local time after arriving from London.
The flight had been due to take off again to head back over the pond at 8.20am, landing in London at 8.10pm.
But this flight was canceled, with it now scheduled to take off at the same time on Tuesday.
A Virgin Atlantic Spokesperson told DailyMail.com on Tuesday: ‘Yesterday’s VS26 from New York JFK to London Heathrow was cancelled following an incident at the gate at JFK involving the engine cowling of a stationary Virgin Atlantic aircraft and a catering service provider’s car that rolled into it. We can confirm that no customers were on board the aircraft during this time.
‘The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority. We’ve commenced a full and thorough investigation of this occurrence and our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the engine cowling. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and are working hard to ensure all customers complete their journey soon.’
A GateGroup spokesperson said: ‘At Gate Gourmet, we hold safety first as our mantra meaning the safety of our employees, customers and all personnel working in and around aircraft is our first priority.
‘We are investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident involving our vehicle. We are grateful there were no injuries to anyone working in the area yesterday.’
