This was published 5 years ago
Air France plane passengers endure unexpected three-day layover in freezing Siberia
An actual winter activity in Siberia is getting into swimsuits and playing beach games in -20 degree weather.Credit: Shutterstock
More than 250 airline passengers who endured an unexpected three- day layover in Russia's Siberia region have finally made it to their destination in China.
The extended travel delay began Sunday when an Air France flight from Paris to Shanghai made an emergency landing in the eastern Siberia city of Irkutsk after a smoke smell appeared in the cockpit.
The 264 passengers and 18 crew members were taken to hotels, but many weren't dressed for the minus-15 degrees Celsius weather. In any case, they couldn't leave the hotels because they were without Russian visas.
The China-bound travellers boarded a replacement plane on Tuesday, but it couldn't take off because of problems in the hydraulic system.
A second replacement plane got them to Shanghai on Wednesday.
Air France said in a statement that it "regrets this exceptional situation." The company apologised to the passengers and said they will be offered compensation.
AP
See also: 35 hours of hell: My nightmare flight transit through China
See also: Oops: Airline's plane for 'non-stop' route can't make distance
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