British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Stranded In Barbados For Nine Days Following Belly Fairing Puncture

A British Airways Airbus A350-1000 was grounded in Barbados for nine days after an ambulift impacted the right side of the aircraft, resulting in a puncture to composite belly fairing.

On August 18, 2026, British Airways was operating scheduled flight BA255 from London Heathrow (LHR) to Barbados (BGI), using one of its Airbus A350-1000s. The route which is regularly served by a Boeing 777-200ER, was upgraded to A350-1000 service from July 18, 2026 for the remaining July/August period.

The flight in question which was serviced by G-XWBK, landed at 2:47 p.m. local time, and was scheduled to depart Barbados at 4:35 p.m. for London. It’s not clear exactly when the incident occurred, but a ground crew member driving a GCG Group ambulift accidentally crashed into the right side of the aircraft, resulting in the composite frame being damaged.

As spotted by an eagle-eyed reader, it looks like the left side guard rail of the bridge platform pierced the belly fairing near the R2 door. As a result, the aircraft had to be grounded.

The belly fairing is a large aerodynamic enclosure beneath the A350’s center fuselage where the wings join the aircraft. It streamlines and houses parts of the center wing box, main landing-gear bays and mechanisms, as well as hydraulic, electrical and air-conditioning systems.

Damage to the fairing itself does not compromise the safety of the fuselage, but technicians would have to still dig deeper to ensure components and supporting structures hidden behind the fairing were not damaged. While not mission critical, this is still an expensive fix as the fairing is also made of a carbon fiber reinforced polymer material. Here is the approximate location where the aircraft appears to have been struck.

Passengers destined to London Heathrow on BA254 were accommodated overnight, with a relief flight (operated with another A350-1000 registered G-XWBO) being flown in the next day.

Repair works were carried out, and the aircraft was ferried back to London Heathrow as BA9606, leaving Barbados at 8:54 a.m. local time. GCG Group and British Airways have launched an investigation into the matter.

Edited to update position on damage.

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