High winds across Bermuda caused one scheduled plane to turn back to the US yesterday after twice attempting to land at L.F. Wade International Airport.

Gusts as high as 59 knots were recorded at Commissioners Point, with sustained northerly winds blowing 48 knots.

Airport General Manager Aaron Adderley, said: "Strong gale force winds blowing cross-directionally at L.F. Wade International Airport yesterday afternoon caused two flights to each make second attempts at landing while a third had to turn back to the United States.

"US Airways flight 1070 from Philadelphia made two attempts to land at L.F. Wade; however, the 40-50 knot wind gusts forced the flight to return to Philadelphia.

"All passengers are expected to either be re-routed or booked on Tuesday's scheduled flight. Strong surface winds also forced Air Canada flight 942 from Toronto and Continental flight 1657 from Newark to make second attempts at landing. However, each flight was able to land successfully without experiencing any notable delays."

One woman waiting for an outbound flight, who asked not to be named, said the landings appeared to be so turbulent that most of the Air Canada passengers left the airport still clutching airsick bags from the plane.

"The airport's nearly 10,000-foot runway — Runway 12-30, runs South East to North West," Mr. Adderley said. "If strong winds, usually in excess of 20-25 knots, are blowing out of a direction other than South-East or North-West, as was the case yesterday when winds were coming out of the North, there is a probability for flight disruptions of some sort."

Winds were expected to ease by this morning, but more showers and strong winds are expected this evening.