Half-Day Flight to Nowhere for Passengers Going From Japan to Germany

Passengers flying from Japan to Europe endured a 14-hour-long flight to nowhere on Tuesday after an engine problem.

All Nippon Airways Flight 223 left Tokyo round 11 a.m. and was scheduled to land in Frankfurt, Germany, about 14 hours later.

Nonetheless, over six hours into the journey, it circled whereas flying over the Arctic Ocean, north of Alaska.

Flight-tracking information reveals how the Boeing 787 then headed again to the Japanese capital.

It took one other eight hours to succeed in Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, the place Flight 223 touched down round 1 a.m.

The airplane diverted as a result of a “low engine oil stage,” an ANA spokesperson informed Enterprise Insider.

Engine oil differs from jet gasoline and is used to lubricate and funky the shifting components contained in the engine. Returning to Tokyo, the airline’s foremost hub, would imply extra assets for upkeep and restore.

The spokesperson added that the flight departed once more on Wednesday morning, with a change of plane and crew.

Knowledge from Flightradar24 reveals the brand new airplane departed at round 7:30 a.m. and is meant to land in Frankfurt round 1 p.m. native time. That is about 20 hours later than passengers initially anticipated to get there.

“The protection of our passengers and crew is our prime precedence,” the spokesperson mentioned. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience induced to our prospects by this in depth delay.”

For the reason that airplane circled roughly midway by way of an enormous journey, it was a very gruelling flight to nowhere — however not the longest.

Final June, a Qantas flight to Paris returned to Perth after 15 hours. It was mid-flight when Iran launched strikes towards a US air base in Qatar, closing a number of the world’s most congested airspace.

And in 2023, Air New Zealand passengers had a 16-hour flight to nowhere after {an electrical} fireplace in a terminal at New York’s JFK Airport.