In the last few hours, SAUDIA flight SV216 from Amsterdam to Jeddah declared an emergency, forcing a diversion to Rome Fiumicino Airport, Italy.
Information is limited on this incident, but below is what we know on the incident so far.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
SAUDIA Flight SV216 Amsterdam to Jeddah…
SAUDIA flight SV216, which declared the emergency, is a routine scheduled flight between Amsterdam and Jeddah.
Furthermore, the aircraft involved in the incident was HZ-AR26.
As per data from Planespotters.net, HZ-AR26 is a 5.0 year old Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner that was delivered to the airline back in December 2019.
Moreover, SAUDIA has eight of the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner aircraft in their fleet.
All eight are in active service with an average fleet age of 4.1 years.
SAUDIA flight SV216, which declared the emergency, departed Amsterdam for Jeddah at 1525 local time today.
Over Italian airspace, the aircraft made a deviation towards Rome and proceeded to initiate some holding patterns.
ADS-B data indicates a fast descent during the deviation and subsequent holds.
After just two and a half hours in the air, the emergency SAUDIA flight SV216 Amsterdam-Jeddah landed safely into Rome Fiumicino.
Cause of the Emergency Isn’t Clear…
At the time of writing (1910 UK time), the cause of the emergency onboard SAUDIA flight SV216 Amsterdam-Jeddah is not yet known.
What we do know is the following:
- The aircraft is still on the ground at Rome.
- HZ-AR26, the specific airframe was due to operate a flight to Paris CDG tomorrow on December 11.
- It is unclear whether this airframe will operate the flight or not.
- If the aircraft stops in Rome overnight, then it could be down to a few factors:
- Technical issue with the aircraft.
- Crew have run out of hours and require the night stop to rest.
- Other issues.
As soon as we get the official cause of the emergency, then we will update you accordingly as the information comes in.
This remains a developing story pending additional updates that may come through in due course. Stay tuned.
UPDATE #1 @ 2000 UK time – @FlightEmergency confirms that the cause of this emergency was medical-related.
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