According to FlightRadar24, Azur Air’s chartered flight ZF3750 from Phuket to Novosibirsk in Russia was scheduled to takeoff at 3.50pm yesterday (Dec 9) but was delayed.
The 32-year-old Boeing 767 aircraft (RA-73078) finally took off at 9.20pm but then started to make circles over Andaman Sea and Phang Nga Bay before landing back in Phuket at 11.56pm.
It is yet to be explained why the flight had been aborted. The incident resulted in some 200 passengers stranded in Phuket and another 200 not being able to depart in scheduled time from Novosibirsk to Phuket on flight ZF3749. The status of ZF3749 on FlightRadar24 is ’Unknown’.
According to Novosibirsk Airport (Tolmachevo) timetable, the ZF3750 flight from Phuket to Novosibirsk is expected to land only on Dec 11. The ZF3749 from Novosibirsk to Phuket is currently delayed for 10 hours but is expected to depart today.
It is understood that the flight will be performed by a different aircraft, as RA-73078 is still in Phuket. According to Russian authorities, 322 passengers are currently waiting for their delayed flight to depart from Novosibirsk to Phuket.
Last week Novosibirsk local media NGS.ru (Novosibirsk Online) reported that a Phuket-bound ZF2949 flight was delayed due to the aircraft not arriving at Novosibirsk airport on time.