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When 280 passengers boarded Air France flight AF116 in Paris, they knew they had a long drive ahead of them. Shanghai, their ultimate destination, was at 11 o'clock. What they experienced, however, was a completely different nightmare.
An emergency landing and a broken replacement plane meant that their trip to China's largest city was a three-day forced stay in Irkutsk, a remote Siberian town, where travelers saw the temperatures drop by -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit). did not have access to their luggage or passports.
The problems started shortly after takeoff. Air France told Agence France-Presse news agencies that the crew had decided to head to Russia "after the appearance of a pungent smell and a slight smoke on board " Time reports. After landing safely, the airport engineers determined that the aircraft could not be repaired in time.
A second flight was sent from Paris to bring the passengers to their destination. It also broke, once arrived in Irkutsk. Two days later, another plane arrived and finally brought them back.
Although there is not much to see in Irkutsk, apart from perhaps the Spasskaya church, the tourist statue and a regional art museum, stranded passengers have not had a chance to explore their temporary home. Because they did not have access to their passports, they were accompanied by the local police wherever they went.
Air France, which had a difficult year in which its CEO resigned and shares plummeted, apologized for the "exceptional situation" and said its customers would be contacted to arrange "appropriate" compensation.
