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U.S. flight takes to skies to Moscow after forced landing in Azores

© Flickr / Roger BitsA United Airlines Boeing 767
A United Airlines Boeing 767 - Sputnik International
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A Washington-Moscow plane, which made an emergency landing at an airport in the Azores in the mid-Atlantic, has taken off to its final destination of Moscow, the press attache for the Russian embassy in Portugal said.

A Washington-Moscow plane, which made an emergency landing at an airport in the Azores in the mid-Atlantic, has taken off to its final destination of Moscow, the press attache for the Russian embassy in Portugal said.

A United Airlines Boeing 767 with some 200 passengers onboard landed on the Portuguese island of Terceira on Wednesday after smoke was discovered on board the plane. The pilot said the smell was from Iceland's volcanic eruption, a passenger claimed.

The flight was originally delayed in Washington for five hours due to bad weather. It was further delayed when European air traffic controllers gave flights to Paris and Brussels first prerogative for takeoff.

"According to the latest information, the plane has already taken off from Terceira Island and is scheduled to land in Moscow at around 7 p.m. Moscow time [15:00 GMT]," Yelena Viksne said.

A passenger earlier said non-EU citizens were required to remain in the terminal at the Terceira Das Lajes Airport for hours before paperwork was completed, while EU citizens and those who had valid Schengen visas were taken by bus to a hotel.

The eruption on the Eyjafjallajokull Glacier in Iceland, which began on April 14, disabled air traffic across Europe, leaving thousands of travelers stranded and forcing more than 20 European countries to close their airspace.

The press attache said the airport in Lisbon was operating normally and some 80% of flights were scheduled to take off on Thursday, and would be operating at 100% on Friday.

MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti) 

 

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