British Airways flight BA274 squawks 7700 emergency on approach to London Heathrow

British Airways flight BA274 (callsign BAW4LV), an Airbus A350-1000 registered G-XWBL, departed Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (KLAS) at 9:56 p.m. local time (04:56 UTC) on August 18, 2026, bound for London Heathrow (EGLL). The aircraft climbed northward before turning northeast, reaching a cruise altitude of 41,380 feet and a peak ground speed of 602 knots during the roughly nine-and-a-half-hour transatlantic flight.

ADS-B data reviewed by SkyMeter shows that at 1:42 p.m. local London time, while still at cruise altitude near 40,289 feet and tracking eastward, the aircraft broadcast a 7700 emergency squawk. Within the next five minutes the descent had begun in earnest, with the track showing a rate steepening to approximately 3,060 feet per minute as the aircraft dropped from 36,654 feet toward the English coast. The descent continued through 23,730 feet and then 12,681 feet as the aircraft tracked toward Heathrow, turning south of London City Airport before swinging southwest on final approach.

The aircraft touched down and entered taxi-in phase at approximately 3:14 p.m. local time, completing the approach without further anomaly in the recorded track. According to airlive.net, the flight declared an emergency on approach to London Heathrow. The full flight, including the emergency squawk and descent profile, can be replayed on SkyMeter.