United Flight From San Francisco To Rome Diverted Two Days In A Row
Intro
United Airlines surely has an unlucky route this week, and this is from San Francisco to Rome. For the second day running, the 777-200ER due to operate this 11-hour flight has been diverted to Edmonton this time (funnily enough, that is where my family is from).
The First Diversion
The first diversion of UA507 took place on Tuesday, August 13th, when the 777-200 was due to operate its flight from San Francisco to Rome. Details remain scarce as to why the planes diverted, but the consensus is that it was mechanical.
Once the decision was made to divert, the captain decided to dump the fuel and land in Sacramento. I assume this was precautionary measures just in case something went wrong.
Interestingly, the plane only carried 148 passengers and 14 crew members. This remained helpful to United Airlines since they could send a quick 737 max 9 up to Sacramento to pick up the passengers. During the summers, it can be tough to find spare widebodies for a couple of hours.
The Second Diversion
Imagine for a second that you are someone who only gets to travel abroad for a week a year (or maybe you are). You have your tickets booked to Rome and a splendid vacation planned. Next thing you know, your flight gets diverted, and you are re-booked for the next day. However, the next day comes, and your flight is diverted again!
This time, you end up in Canada! Of all the places, Edmonton isn't the place I'd want to be (even though it runs in my blood). The decision was made to divert to Edmonton since it was the closest open airport and that could accommodate a widebody aircraft. The next choice would have been Calgary.
The 777 landed in Edmonton just after midnight, spent an hour and a half on the ground, and then had a 3-hour flight back to San Francisco, landing at 3:30 am. Talk about a long day, huh?
Final Thoughts
United Airlines flight 507 from San Francisco to Rome has diverted twice in a row on consecutive days. What a horrific experience for passengers affected as they have had to head to San Francisco airport twice, Edmonton, and Sacramento all within 48 hours. Hopefully, this won't happen again. United, as much as I like you as an airline, you have a little bit of maintenance to do.
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