An Air France transatlantic flight to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, USA, was forced back to Paris- Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris after nearly 7 hours of flight.
Flight AF136, operated by Airbus A350-900, had to divert in the middle of its journey because it was not licensed to land at US airports.
Data from FlightRadar24 shows that Air France flight AF136 departed from Paris- Charles de Gaulle airport at 12:39 local time on June 28, 2025, with the destination being Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
The Airbus A350-900 flies on a transatlantic route across the UK on a regular route. At around 4:30 p.m. while flying between Iceland and Greenland, the flight crew decided to return to France.
Although the plane has completed nearly half of its route, operational constraints have forced the airline to route the flight back to the departure point.
The reason the flight had to change direction was because it was not licensed to land at Chicago O'Hare Airport. Air France later confirmed the flight was turned around for "examination reasons," but did not provide further details.
Flight AF136 landed safely at Paris- Charles de Gaulle airport after 6.37 hours and 30 minutes of takeoff. Air France has arranged overnight accommodation for affected passengers and booked other flights for passengers.
The replacement flight, AF4080, left the airport from Paris to Chicago at 11:20 on June 29, local time.
