Posted on 04/12/2017 7:32:00 PM PDT by Whenifhow
A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Shanghai, China was diverted from flying over Russian airspace for “diplomatic reasons” early Wednesday morning, passengers on the flight say.
Those diplomatic concerns forced the flight to refuel at Tokyo’s Narita airport, the flight’s captain told passengers, several of whom posted about it on social media.
One passenger named Andy Brown says that the airplane almost ran out of fuel before landing at Narita.
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It is unclear if any other flights were re-routed and whether the diversions are temporary.
Flight logs tracked on the website FlightAware show that the flight from San Francisco was diverted at 7:32 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The flight, which normally takes less than 13 hours, was delayed nearly three hours. It left San Francisco’s airport at 2:10 p.m. local time on Tuesday and arrived in Shanghai at 8:22 p.m. local time.
A spokesman for United Airlines confirmed to The Daily Caller that the flight was re-routed and that because the airplane “required a longer route,” it was forced to refuel. The spokesman declined to comment on whether diplomatic concerns were at play. He said that United is in communication with air traffic control, including the Federal Aviation Administration, to determine the reason for the diversion.
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration sent this statement after publication:
“A U.S. flight was routed around Russian airspace Tuesday. These kinds of reroutes are routine and most often occur when there are issues with the paperwork that is filed to obtain clearances to access that airspace.”
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
Does anyone know if President Trump has brought back the Russian diplomats that Obama kicked out? He sure should, and soon, if he hasn’t already. That was so ridiculous.
Russia has mellowed, they shot down KAL Flt 007 with no warning...
Hasn’t been a good week for UAL.
Something is fishy. According to Flight Tracker, UA857 was 100 miles off the coast of Shanghai when it was "diverted" at 7:32 a.m. This is nowhere near Russian airspace.
At 7:32 a.m., UA857 was at 31.6495N; 124.1735E.
Here is the Great Circle Route between SFO and Shanghai. Yes, the route does cross over the Kuril Islands at one point. But you can see that rerouting to the east of the Kuril Islands should add minimal time to the trip ... certainly less than a routine weather re-route. There should have been no reason to refuel at Narito.
Wow everyone is really losing it since the Syria attack. Guys, we are not going to war with Russia. Not gonna happen. Putin has to do a little posturing to look tough for his people and it also incidentally helps destroy the Trump & Putin are bff’s meme.
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration has stated:
“A U.S. flight was routed around Russian airspace Tuesday. These kinds of reroutes are routine and most often occur when there are issues with the paperwork that is filed to obtain clearances to access that airspace.”
United Airlines? The Russians are scared of getting a pounding...
If this is the only flight that has been banned, I would say look at the passengers or the cargo. Someone or something on that flight they do not want over their territory.
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