Lagos-bound Delta passengers spend full workday in the sky only to land back in Atlanta

Passengers bound for Nigeria spent nearly a full workday in the sky on Saturday, only to end up exactly where they started.

The Delta DL54 was said to return to Atlanta after eight hours in the air and a U-turn over the middle of the Atlantic, Airlive.net reported.

The Delta Air Lines flight DL54, a scheduled service from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to Lagos (LOS), was forced to abort its journey mid-way across the Atlantic Ocean, returning to Georgia after eight hours of flying, Airlive.net stated.

According to the report, the flight, operated by an Airbus A330-200 (registration N854NW), left Atlanta at 5:42 PM EDT on Saturday, May 9.

Flight tracking data stated that the aircraft climbed to a cruising altitude of 33,000 feet and maintained a standard eastbound track for approximately three and a half hours.

However, as the jet approached the midpoint of its oceanic crossing, the crew made the decision to turn the aircraft around.

In a statement, Delta Air Lines confirmed that the flight was diverted back to Atlanta due to an “operational issue.”

While the airline did not provide details regarding the nature of the malfunction or actually cause, the decision to return to the hub (rather than diverting to an airport in the Azores or Western Europe) suggests the issue was to be better handled by the airline’s maintenance base in Atlanta, Airlive.net stated.

Upon returning to Atlanta in the early hours of Sunday morning, the airline officially canceled the flight.

The aircraft involved in the incident remained on the ground in Atlanta for inspection.