A flight from Heathrow was forced to circle for hours at 27,000 feet after the plane suffered technical difficulties.

There were concerns for the plane as it circled in the skies above Wales on Saturday (July 22) before returning to London, having declared an emergency.

United Airlines has apologised for the problem which saw passengers stuck in the air for hours without getting anywhere.

The flight set off from Heathrow Airport at 2.50pm and was bound for Chicago in the USA.

But shortly after take-off crew were alerted to difficulties developing.

The United Airlines flight 959 began circling at 27,000ft above Swansea.

Passengers endured around two hours of repeated loops in the air above Wales.

There was a large grass fire in the Feltham area near Heathrow yesterday afternoon, but this was not connected to the issues on the plane.

This map shows how the flight made repeated loops over south Wales

A flight map of Flight 959 shows how the plane made repeated loops before heading back to London.

When an emergency landing needs to be made planes often make repeated loops so they can burn off fuel and lose weight.

After around three hours in the air the plane returned to Heathrow.

Maintenance crews rushed to check the plane after a safe landing.

United Airlines have stated that the affected passengers are being compensated following the fault and the failed flight.

It is understood that the passengers will make it to Chicago today (Sunday, July 22).

A spokesman for United Airlines told Wales Online: "Our team at London Heathrow is providing assistance to customers of United flight 959, London Heathrow to Chicago, which returned to London Heathrow because of a technical issue.

"The aircraft landed safely and our maintenance team is inspecting the aircraft.

"We are providing our customers with meal vouchers and hotel accommodation and are making arrangements for them to complete their journeys tomorrow. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused."