On Feb. 1, 2026, a passenger aicraft operated by Air France and flying from Bangkok (BKK) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) was diverted to an alternate airport around eight hours into the flight. The emergency diversion was the second recorded by Air France in 2026.
Incident details
The Air France flight AF183 crew transmitted a Squawk 7700 emergency signal while cruising at 36,000 feet over Azerbaijan, after reporting a suspicious odour of burning smell in the cabin. The Boeing 777-200ER diverted to the Tbilisi International Airport (TBS) in Georgia, where it landed safely on Runway 31L approximately eight hours into the flight. No injuries were reported.
The aircraft involved, registered F-GSPF, is a Boeing 777-200ER delivered to Air France in March 1999. At the time of the Air France emergency diversion, the aircraft was 26 years and 10 months old and had remained in continuous service with the airline for more than two decades.
After landing safely at TBS, passengers were kept on board for several hours while initial technical checks were carried out. This is standard procedure following reports of smoke or unusual odours, allowing crews and engineers to confirm the aircraft was safe to fly.
Following the diversion, Air France sent an Airbus A350 from Paris to Tbilisi to fly passengers to Paris CDG. The airline also dispatched technical staff to carry out further checks on the aicraft. This type of response is standard when a plane is grounded away from a major hubs.
The incident follows a similar event on Jan. 12, 2026, when Air France flight AF191, also operated by a Boeing 777-200ER, diverted to Ashgabat (ASB), Turkmenistan, after an engine-related issue.
Read more about the latest burning smell-related incident here and follow Travel Radar for further updates on this story.
