Beijing airport Photo: VCG

Air China said on Wednesday that a flight from London to Beijing was forced to make an emergency landing in Russia due to a mechanical failure during the journey, and that a replacement aircraft has since arrived safely in Beijing.

On Tuesday Beijing time, Air China flight CA856 from London to Beijing experienced a mechanical failure during the flight, and the crew carried out an emergency landing in accordance with procedures, Air China said on its Weibo account.

To ensure proper passenger service and support, Air China dispatched a replacement aircraft to the alternate airport on the same day to operate the onward flight. The replacement flight arrived safely at Beijing Capital International Airport on Wednesday morning.

Previous reports saying that on Tuesday, the Air China flight from London to Beijing made an emergency landing at Nizhnevartovsk Airport in Russia.

According to flight data, the flight took off from London at 10:43 pm local time on Monday and was originally scheduled to arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport at 3:25 pm Beijing time on Tuesday. However, at 8:17 am local time, it diverted and landed at Nizhnevartovsk Airport in Russia.

Global Times