DESPITE a 25-hour delay, passengers on a Virgin Atlantic flight were still able to proclaim their satisfaction with the airline - especially after it offered them free return tickets to the destination of their choice.
The 255 passengers were given the tickets after an odyssey that included an unscheduled, eight-hour stopover in Moscow.
A statement from Virgin said the flight from London to Hong Kong on Thursday had been forced to stop in Moscow after Russian air traffic control could not confirm overflight rights through their airspace.
The confusion over Thursday's routine, scheduled flight arose even though Russian authorities had confirmed that a new, shorter route was available over Russia.
'After filing a flight plan, the Virgin aircraft left Heathrow on schedule and - four hours into the flight - was requested to divert to Moscow by Russian air traffic control, who apparently had no knowledge of the officially sanctioned revised routing,' the statement said.
After being held in Moscow for eight hours, the Airbus A340 was allowed to return to London where passengers were forced to spend the night before embarking for Hong Kong.
After finally reaching the territory yesterday evening, the passengers received letters offering return trips on any scheduled service operated by Virgin, which is owned by British tycoon Richard Branson.