On Tuesday (August 26), the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency announced that a China International Airlines (Air China) plane flying from London to Beijing had to make an emergency landing in Siberia due to an engine failure. The aircraft was carrying 265 people.
The Russian air transport regulator Rosaviatsia stated in a press release that during the flight from London to Beijing, the crew of the Boeing 777-300 aircraft of Air China decided to land at an alternate airport in Russia. The preliminary reason was an engine malfunction.
According to the Russian civil aviation authority, Air China has decided to dispatch a replacement aircraft to Nizhnevartovsk Airport in western Siberia. The aircraft is expected to arrive at the airport later on Tuesday to bring back 250 passengers and 15 crew members to Beijing.
Flight tracking website FlightAware data showed that the Air China Boeing 777 aircraft took off from London at 10:43 p.m. on Monday and after flying for five and a half hours, it encountered engine issues upon entering Russian airspace. The plane landed at Nizhnevartovsk Airport in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in Russia around 8:17 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
Nizhnevartovsk is a major hub for the oil industry in Russia, located about 2300 kilometers east of Moscow and approximately 3500 kilometers from Beijing.
Flight over Russia is the shortest route between Europe and East Asia. However, due to EU sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, Western airlines are unable to use this route and often have to fly through the southern part of Russia, leading to longer flight times and increased fuel consumption.
The Air China flight CA856, which made the emergency landing in Russia on Tuesday, operates between the UK and Beijing and usually takes over 9 hours for the journey.
Due to the ongoing risks associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK Foreign Office currently advises against traveling to Russia.
It is currently unclear how many British citizens were on board the Air China flight that made the emergency landing in Russia.