Etihad A380 on Toronto–Abu Dhabi service diverts to Amman

An Etihad Airways Airbus A380 bound for Abu Dhabi landed unexpectedly at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman on Sunday morning before resuming its trip to the United Arab Emirates.

Flight EY22 left Toronto Pearson International Airport on Saturday, October 17, at 2:10 PM EDT. The aircraft was a double-decker A380-800 registered A6-APJ, and the sector to Zayed International Airport was scheduled to take 13 hours and 35 minutes.

According to the account of the flight, the crew turned the aircraft toward the Jordanian capital after close to ten hours in the air, when it was still heading east across the Atlantic toward the Middle East. Etihad has not publicly given a reason for the diversion. Arrival and ground handling in Amman were carried out without incident, the report said.

The jet stayed on the tarmac for about four hours while ground procedures were completed. It then departed to fly the remaining portion of the route and was on approach to Abu Dhabi with an expected arrival around 15:10 local time.