Helios flight to Britain diverted

A Helios Airways flight from Cyprus to Britain's Luton airport was diverted yesterday because the pilot believed he had a problem with the aircraft's flaps, an airport spokesman said.

"It was not an emergency landing, it's what's called a 'local standby'," she told Reuters, noting that the plane had landed safely. A Helios flight from Cyprus's Larnaca airport to Athens crashed in mysterious circumstances on Sunday just outside the Greek capital, killing all six crew and 115 passengers.

A spokesman for the airline said flight ZU400 left Larnaca on Friday morning and had been due to land at Luton, north of London, but instead touched down at Stansted airport, also near the capital.

Helios Airways later announced that it was sending its remaining two Boeings 737s to Sweden for safety checks.