Air France jet en route to Mumbai makes emergency landing in Iran
An Air France jet made an emergency landing in Iran on Wednesday, New York Post said, citing meida reports.
The Airbus A340 briefly vanished from radar when it unexpectedly descended over the city of Isfahan, then re-appeared and landed at the local airport, according to The Sun.
It was recorded “squawking 7700” — code for signaling an emergency — according to a tweet from the Flightradar24 website.
The plane, Flight 218, was en route from Paris to Mumbai at the time, the Sun said.
In a statement, Air France said the plane “landed normally” at 5 p.m. Paris time “following a malfunction of the ventilation system.”
The airline called the move “precautionary” and said it was “in line with the manufacturer’s procedures.”
Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency quoted an airport official as saying “all 267 on board are safe and sound.”
The plane took off for Dubai around 11 p.m. local time, with Air France saying “technical checks” were performed by “on-site maintenance teams,” Fox News reported.
The passengers were expected to continue on to Mumbai after landing in Dubai, Fox News said.
It was unclear if any Americans were on the flight.
The emergency landing came amid rising tensions between the US and Iran, which earlier Wednesday said it would stop complying with parts of its 2015 nuclear disarmament deal.