EDINBURGH, Scotland - British Airways passengers have spoken of their shock after boarding a plane to Dusseldorf - that ended up in Edinburgh.

The flight, BA3271, set off from London City airport at 7.47am today and was supposed to head east to Germany.

But the pilot on the service - operated by Germany-based WDL Aviation on a 'wet lease' arrangement with BA - was given a flight plan that directed him to the Scottish capital and he touched down there at 9am.

Passengers on board the service only realised they were at the wrong destination after the plane landed and a 'welcome to Edinburgh' announcement was made.

Some on board took to Twitter to complain about the very unexpected diversion.

One passenger, called Son Tran, tweeted BA to ask: 'Can you please explain how can my morning flight taking off from LCY to Düsseldorf land in Edinburgh?

'While an interesting concept, I don't think anyone on board has signed up for this mystery travel lottery... #BA3271.'

Mr Tran then followed up his first tweet with more information about the flight: 'This feels like an honest mistake rather than a diversion. The crew was convinced of the Edinburgh flight path from the get-go...'

Another passenger, Chris McGrillen, added: 'The first announcement the crew made about the destination was as we were coming in to land. Boarding passes weren't checked.

'Given this flight is operated by a third party (WDL) BA clearly needs to specify best practices (a 'Welcome to your flight to Edinburgh') for 3rd parties.'

After the unplanned stop in Scotland, the plane refuelled and set off from Edinburgh at 10.30am on its second attempt to reach Düsseldorf.

British Airways told MailOnline Travel: 'We are working with WDL Aviation, who operated this flight on behalf of British Airways, to establish why the incorrect flight plan was filed.

'We have apologised to customers for this interruption to their journey and will be contacting them all individually.'

A spokesman for WDL Aviation added: 'We are working closely with the authorities to investigate how the obviously unfortunate mix-up of flight schedules could occur. (FA)