An Air China Boeing 777-300ER registered B-2033 en route from London Heathrow to Beijing as flight CA856 made an emergency landing in Nizhnevartovsk, Siberia (NJC) early Tuesday after suffering an engine malfunction mid-flight.
The aircraft, carrying over 250 passengers, departed London at 22:43 on Monday and diverted around five and a half hours into its journey, landing safely at 08:17 local time this Tuesday.
Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia confirmed the diversion was prompted by a suspected engine failure. Air China has dispatched a reserve aircraft (Boeing 777-300ER with registration B-2088) to transport passengers onward to Beijing later today.
The UK Foreign Office continues to advise against all travel to Russia due to security risks from the ongoing war in Ukraine. It remains unclear how many British nationals were aboard the diverted flight.