A Lufthansa Airbus A380 bound for Munich made an unexpected, seven-hour journey to nowhere across North America before executing a diversion to Boston Logan International Airport early Thursday morning.
BOSTON — Lufthansa flight LH459, operated by a double-decker Airbus A380-800 (registration D-AIMM), departed San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on Wednesday night at 10:14 PM PDT, just over an hour behind schedule. After a standard departure out of runway 28R, the superjumbo climbed to its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet and set a standard course toward Germany.
The flight proceeded normally for roughly three hours, crossing out of U.S. airspace and deep into Canada. However, while over northern Ontario, the flight crew made the sudden decision to abort the transatlantic crossing and turn back south toward the United States.
[San Francisco (SFO)] ➔ (3 hours northeast over Canada) ➔ [Turnback] ➔ [Aborted Chicago (ORD) Approach] ➔ [Diverted to Boston (BOS)]
Flight tracking data shows the massive aircraft was initially vectored toward Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) for a potential emergency landing. However, while descending over the Great Lakes, the crew halted their approach at 15,000 feet, changed plans once more, and redirected the aircraft further east toward New England.
The double-decker jet finally touched down at Boston Logan (BOS) at 8:42 AM EDT on Thursday. By the time the wheels hit the tarmac, the passengers had been in the air for 7 hours and 28 minutes, only to end up roughly 2000 miles closer to their destination than when they started.
Lufthansa has not yet detailed the exact nature of the operational or technical issue that prompted the complex diversion, nor why the crew bypassed Chicago in favor of Boston.
According to airport departure boards, the airline is currently scrambling to get the travelers across the Atlantic. The aircraft is tentatively scheduled to depart Boston at 10:00 AM EDT today, with a revised arrival time in Munich set for 11:00 PM local time.
