Flight from South Africa to Atlanta diverted for “technical specifications” (opens in new tab)

(reuters.com)

9 pointsstevetodd4y ago8 comments

8 comments

Seems like they lacked the fuel? I don't have a globe handy, but a quick glance at Google Maps suggests Boston is slightly closer to Johannesburg than Atlanta is.

jareklupinski4y ago

12,638 km - Distance from Johannesburg to Boston

13,558 km - Distance from Johannesburg to Atlanta

I had to look it up to believe it

azth4y ago

Why aren't flights from South Africa banned yet?

danielfoster4y ago

Why is this on HN? Flights divert to refuel all the time.

BabyJohn4y ago

In December 2019, a deadly breakout of novel coronavirus SARS‑CoV‑2 spread and was declared a global pandemic. Recently, the WHO declared one particular variant first discovered in South Africa as a "variant of concern", and the US imposed a loose "travel ban" on noncitizens from this country. This is one of the last flights out of South Africa before the ban is set to be enforced.

boardwaalk4y ago

Is “technical specifications” a normal way to put this? Seems odd to me, but I also don’t call my code “codes.”

mdtancsa4y ago

this is all starting to feel either like "The Cassandra Crossing" or "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street"... Probably the later :(

ragnot4y ago

Maybe a covert hand-delivered sample of some sorts?

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