Air China passengers spent half a day in Russia waiting for a replacement plane after their flight diverted due to engine trouble.
Flight 856 took off from London Heathrow shortly before 11 p.m. local time on Monday, according to Flightradar24.
Just over two hours later, it crossed the border into Russian airspace— something many airlines haven’t done since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
That’s given Air China a key advantage over European carriers, as the likes of British Airways often have to take detours to reach Asia.
However, Monday’s passengers would face a delay of 13 hours.
Five hours into the journey, flight-tracking data shows the Boeing 777 changed direction. 30 minutes later, it landed in the western Siberian city of Nizhnevartovsk.
A spokesperson for Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, said on Telegram that the pilots declared the urgency signal PAN-PAN.
He added that the preliminary reason was an engine malfunction.
Air China sent a replacement plane from Beijing to transport the 251 passengers and 15 crew members.
Meanwhile, there was a 13-hour wait in Nizhnevartovsk Airport.
Rosaviatsiya said “several dozen folding beds” were provided for children and older people, as well as food and drinks.
The second Boeing 777 arrived shortly after 5 p.m. local time and took off again four hours later.
From there, it was another four hours before passengers finally reached the Chinese capital.
They touched down at 4:41 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Flight 856 was initially scheduled to land at 3:25 p.m. the day before.
The plane that diverted, registered as B-2033, is still on the ground in Nizhnevartovsk, according to Flightradar24 data.
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