Plane from US Bagram airbase lands at Iran airport

Plane from US Bagram airbase lands at Iran airport
Sat Sep 6, 2014 12:17:00

An Emirati passenger plane taking off from US military base in Bagram Afghanistan and carrying nearly 100 Americans has made an emergency landing in southern Iran.

Confirming the Friday incident, an informed source with the Iranian airport authority confirmed reports that the plane had landed at Bandar Abbas International Airport but did not elaborate.

The airplane chartered by the United Arab Emirate’s Fly Dubai airline landed in the port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iranian Hormozgan Province after being rerouted because of a "bureaucratic issue... involving the plane's flight plan," the US State Department announced on Friday.

The plane has reportedly taken off from the Iranian airport and landed safely in Dubai.

A US official said the aircraft had not updated its flight plan after leaving Bagram for Dubai several hours late.

Iranian officials first asked the plane to turn around and then to land at Bandar Abbas airport when told it did not have enough fuel to return to Afghanistan, the official said.

In a statement, US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf rejected media reports that Iranian jets had escorted the Fly Dubai plane.

"No Iranian jets were scrambled in this situation,” she said.

"We appreciate the efforts of all parties to help the passengers get safely to their destination," Harf added.

The US and Iran have had no diplomatic ties for nearly three decades.

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