Source: Simon Hradecky | www.avherald.com

A British Airways Airbus A350-1000, registration G-XWBG performing flight BA-58 from Cape Town (South Africa) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), was enroute at FL330 about 570nm north of Cape Town in Namibian Airspace when the crew decided to turn around and return to Cape Town. The aircraft landed safely on Cape Town’s runway 19 about 3 hours after departure with a large deployment of emergency services on standby.

Local Officials reported the crew reported smoke in the cockpit.

The airline denied smoke in the cockpit but did not provide any details about the reason for the return. The passengers were taken to hotels. The flight was cancelled, the passengers rebooked.

Passengers reported the aircraft’s inflight entertainment system went dark on the return to Cape Town.

The aircraft is still on the ground in Cape Town about 45 hours after landing.

The aircraft had already returned to London Heathrow on the outbound flight BA-59 to Cape Town of Apr 14th 2025 for unknown reasons, departed again the following day and reached Cape Town with a delay of 24 hours.