Cell Phone Forces Flight Diversion to Ireland

An international flight headed for Chicago was diverted to Ireland Sunday after an unidentified cell phone was discovered on board.

According to The Independent, Air France Flight AF136 had departed from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport for a journey to Chicago O’Hare International Airport when a phone not belonging to anyone onboard was discovered.

The pilot of the Air France flight called for an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, with an airline spokesperson saying the decision was “precautionary.” When the plane landed safely in Ireland, it was met by the airport’s fire and police teams.

The aircraft was moved to a remote taxiway where authorities boarded the plane and removed the phone for inspection. The passengers remained on board while the Airbus A330 was refueled.

“The phone was removed from the aircraft and taken to the terminal where it was X-rayed by airport police officers and gardai,” Garda Inspector Paul Slattery told The Independent. “Once we were satisfied the phone was safe, it was returned to Air France staff.”

The flight took off for Chicago at around 7 p.m. local time.

An Air France spokesperson released a statement to The Independent:

“Air France confirms that the crew of flight AF136 from Paris CDG to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) on 20 October 2019 decided to divert as a precautionary measure after a mobile phone was found and not claimed by the passengers on board.”

“The plane landed at Shannon (SNN) in Ireland for the crew to hand over the phone to the authorities before leaving for Chicago where the plane landed at 8:26 p.m.”

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