2 Canadians among 98 passengers on US-chartered jet forced to land in Iran

[CougarKing]

An outdated flight plan?

Washington Post

Western military charter plane lands in Iran

An aircraft chartered by coalition forces in Afghanistan, en route from Bagram air base to Dubai, landed Friday in Bandar Abbas, Iran, after Iranian officials questioned its flight plan, U.S. officials said.

The plane had been contacted by Iranian air traffic controllers, who instructed it to return to Afghanistan and file the correct plan. When the pilots informed the Iranians they did not have enough fuel to return to Bagram, they were asked to land.

One official said Iranian fighter jets had escorted the plane, which was carrying approximately 100 Americans and possibly a pair of Canadians, to the ground. Other officials denied that, and said the plane landed on its own. It was expected to resume its flight quickly.

The plane was chartered from Fly Dubai, a company based in the United Arab Emirates.

A spokeswoman for the UAE Embassy in Washington said she was aware of the incident but did not have additional information.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

The flight was delayed in departing by 3 hours....

 

[GR66]

The flight was delayed in departing by 3 hours....

Air Canada?

 

[CougarKing]

They've already been released. It was an embarrassing incident for FlyDubai - the charter carrier.

In a later statement Friday night, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that the issue had been resolved and that the plane “has departed Iran and landed in Dubai.” The operator of the aircraft, FlyDubai, is based in the United Arab Emirates.

source: Washington Post

 

[The_Falcon]

FlyDubai is the carrier, but the company that chartered the flight is called DFS.  All their flights are basically contractors from the sandbox.  Most of us here believe this was deliberate since the passengers on DFS flights are usually mainly US contractors.  Commercial Emirates, FlyDubai, and Safi Airways, flights routinely transit Iranian airspace several times a day on the Dubai-Kabul route with zero incidents.