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Diversion to Beirut

Old 25th Aug 2023, 19:45
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Diversion to Beirut

This week a friend and his family boarded a flight home from Rhodes to the UK, which apparently ended up being diverted to Beirut, and them having to spend the night in a hotel in the city,. They flew home to the UK the next day. Beirut is hundreds of miles in the opposite direction than the intended route, with a number of suitable airports en-route (eg Cyprus) where they could have landed if the problem had been urgent or technical. Has anyone any idea why this happened?

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Old 25th Aug 2023, 20:10
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Airline ?
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 20:12
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If the airline has Beirut as a destination, it would make sense to send them to a company destination where handling is set up. Cheaper and more reliable than choosing an airfield with no contracts in place.
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 20:54
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Originally Posted by DaveReidUK
Airline ?
Was told that it was easyJet, but could be wrong: my friend is notoriously vague when it comes to airlines: if it flies he is happy, just not when it goes in the wrong destination. But they did pay for his Beirut hotel.
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 21:03
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We don't have the day in question. We don't have the airline. We don't have the destination in the UK. And we don't have the approximate time. Come on now, give us just a little chance to help answer your question!
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 21:34
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Very sorry, but it's all I have. I can speculate with the best of you, but thought that a diversion for 100's of miles in the opposite direction ignoring intermediate airports was unusual enough that someone here might know about it. Cannot see that the cost and hassle of finding overnight hotels for a whole flight of passengers, plus the fuel costs for going 100's of miles in the wrong destination, would be worth a diversion for just operational needs. Hijacking, anyone?
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 21:59
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Hijacking? I'm sorry but this is getting very silly now. We don't want to speculate. We want to try and give you an answer. But you have given us nothing to go on.
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 22:03
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It seems surprising in this day and age that such a diversion would not produce acres of newsprint in the red-tops, especially given that the destination was Beirut. It's possible that they were made to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements, but whatever the situation, the diversion seems to be very odd indeed
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 22:03
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I was indeed writing with my tongue in my cheek. Just wondered if anyone knew of an unusual reason for the strange diversion: this is a rumour site, after all. But if this upsets anyone, I wont ask again.
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 22:06
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Originally Posted by barry lloyd
It seems surprising in this day and age that such a diversion would not produce acres of newsprint in the red-tops, especially given that the destination was Beirut. It's possible that they were made to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements, but whatever the situation, the diversion seems to be very odd indeed
These were my thoughts exactly.
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 22:15
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This has to be a leg-pull
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 22:17
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I even thought Bayreuth in Germany, but there would surely be better options than that. Has nobody tried fr24 playback?

Sounds like a wind up to me though

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Old 25th Aug 2023, 22:25
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Scheduled Middle East Airlines flight following cancellation of a different flight?
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 22:25
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Belgium?
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 22:34
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I have done a quick check on FR24 for Tue Wed Thu afternoon and evening and found nothing from Rhodes to Beirut. Personally, considering your friend seemingly hardly knows any basic details, it wouldn't surprise me that it wasn't Beirut at all.
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 22:38
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And what exactly is wrong with Beirut? Some nightlife there!
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 22:39
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Originally Posted by FUMR
I have done a quick check on FR24 for Tue Wed Thu afternoon and evening and found nothing from Rhodes to Beirut. Personally, considering your friend seemingly hardly knows any basic details, it wouldn't surprise me that it wasn't Beirut at all.
Good title for a novel, though...
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 22:59
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Originally Posted by FUMR
I have done a quick check on FR24 for Tue Wed Thu afternoon and evening and found nothing from Rhodes to Beirut. Personally, considering your friend seemingly hardly knows any basic details, it wouldn't surprise me that it wasn't Beirut at all.
Brindisi lies approximately on the route from Rhodes to the UK. Could it have been a case of misremembered/mistaken identity?
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 23:04
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Originally Posted by barry lloyd
Good title for a novel, though...
Where's Harry Palmer when you need him?
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Old 25th Aug 2023, 23:40
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Maybe they stayed in a ‘Hotel Beirut’ ?
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