Story highlights The plane landed safely with 252 passengers and 15 crew

Laser beams can temporarily disorient and blind pilots

(CNN) A "laser incident" forced a pilot to turn around a flight from London to New York, Virgin Atlantic Airlines said.

Virgin Atlantic Flight 025 was en route from Heathrow Airport on Sunday when a laser was pointed at the plane, spokeswoman Jaime Fraser said.

"Following this incident, the first officer reported feeling unwell. The decision was taken by both pilots to return to Heathrow rather than continue the transatlantic crossing," the airline said on its website.

The aircraft landed safely at Heathrow with 252 passengers and 15 crew, Fraser said.

Virgin Atlantic said it's offering affected passengers overnight accommodation and the flight is scheduled to depart London on Monday.