LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince William said he and his wife Kate were fine after a Royal Air Force plane carrying the royal couple was forced to abort a landing in Islamabad twice on Thursday and return to Lahore after being caught in a severe thunderstorm.
The RAF Voyager plane carrying the royals, who are on a four-day official visit to Pakistan, tried to land twice, at Rawalpindi air base and Islamabad international, before it decided to return to Lahore.
William, who has previously worked as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, told reporters after they landed that he and Kate were fine, joking that the problems had been caused because he was flying the plane.
A Reuters photographer, who was on board, said there had been no issues before the plane took off but the flight, which was due to take just 26 minutes, became very turbulent as they attempted to land.
The journey eventually took more than two hours and the photographer described it as the most turbulent flights he had ever been on in 25 years of regular flying.
Reporting by Peter Nicholls; writing by Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison
