In airline circles, ‘flights to nowhere’ have become a popular alternative during the COVID-19 pandemic as some carriers have filled the desire of travelers looking to fly, even if restrictions in other countries prevent them from landing and getting off the plane to visit.
In fact, last fall, a seven-hour flight to nowhere on Qantas sold out in 10 minutes.
Last Sunday, some passengers got to experience that – albeit in an unscheduled capacity.
A KLM jet scheduled to fly from Amsterdam to Zanzibar suffered a bird strike and took an unexpected six-hour flight to nowhere before landing back at its home airport in the Netherlands.
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The flight happened on Feb. 28, according to The Independent newspaper.
KLM flight 515 departed Amsterdam Schiphol airport for Zanzibar, Tanzania, and was flying over the Mediterranean Sea just south of Greece when the crew made the decision to turn back for the Dutch capital.
At that point, the Boeing 777 jet was three hours into an eight-and-a-half hour flight.
The Independent noted that the flight tracking service RadarBox reported the reason as a “bird strike,” although it is not known when the KLM plane hit the bird or birds.
While the plane apparently did not need an immediate emergency landing somewhere closer to their location, the pilot nonetheless decided it was best to turn back to Amsterdam rather than continuing on to Zanzibar. Flight 515 landed safely back in Amsterdam, where it took off from six hours earlier.
Flights that end up back at their departure airport are called “flights to nowhere.”
KLM did not return a message for comment and further clarification.
