ZCZC
BFF-35
FRANCE-RUSSIA-CHINA-AVIATION-PLANE
Smoke forces Air France-Shanghai flight to divert to Siberia
MOSCOW, Nov 11, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – An Air France flight carrying 282
passengers from Paris to Shanghai made an unexpected stop in Siberia on
Sunday after smoke and a bitter smell filled the cabin, the company said.
No passengers were hurt and they were put up in a hotel near Irkutsk
airport in eastern Siberia, Air France told AFP.
“The crew of AF116 on a Boeing 777 from Paris to Shanghai decided to
divert to Irkutsk in Russia after an acrid smell and light smoke appeared on
board,” the French carrier told AFP.
“The flight landed normally in Irkutsk at 8:10 Paris time (0710 GMT),” it
said.
Officials at the airport confirmed to Russian news agencies that no one
was injured and that experts had been sent to the airport to assess the
aircraft.
Air France said the flight could continue to Shanghai after technical
clearance.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1911 hrs