Gulf Air Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Diverts To Kuwait After Alleged Engine Fire

A Gulf Air flight on its way to Manchester had to divert to Kuwait due to engine issues. And while situations like these are difficult for all passengers on the aircraft, some on the flight had to endure more than others due to visa issues.

Gulf Air flight diverts to Kuwait

On December 1, a Gulf Air Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flying between Bahrain International Airport (BAH) and Manchester Airport (MAN) had to divert to Kuwait after an issue with one of its engines. According to various reports, the aircraft’s left engine caught fire, which forced a diversion to Kuwait City.

Gulf Air Flight GF5 is a scheduled service between Bahrain and Manchester. It departs at 02:10 and arrives at 06:35. The flight usually takes just under seven hours to complete.

The aircraft involved in the incident is a 6.5-year-old Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner registered A9C-FB. According to ch-aviation, it was delivered to Gulf Air in June 2018 and can seat 282 passengers in a dual configuration—256 in economy and 26 in business class.

Inconvenience to some passengers

A diversion to a third country can have several complications. Passenger accommodation, as well as visa issues, can cause significant inconvenience to some travelers. And that’s exactly what happened with around 60 passengers of flight GF5.

According to Business Standard, those with US, UK, and EU passports were allowed to leave the airport for hotel accommodation, but the rest, mostly Indian nationals, had to stay inside because of a lack of transit visas. The report quotes one of the passengers as saying,

“They told us only passengers eligible for a transit visa could be accommodated in hotels. For others, it took hours to even access the airport lounge.”

As travelers began updating social media with their ordeal, the Indian Embassy in Kuwait took notice and asked authorities to prioritize accommodation for senior citizens and families with infants at the airport.

Passengers were reportedly stranded at the airport for close to 13 hours and before the Indian Embassy stepped in, many complained of inadequate facilities, such as food and water.

Alternate flight

Gulf Air arranged an alternate flight to carry stranded passengers from Kuwait to Manchester. The Indian Embassy initially said that the flight was scheduled to depart at 03:30 on the morning of December 2 and that Embassy officials would be present at the airport during the departure.

The embassy then posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the aircraft departed at 04:34 and also showed photos of passengers lining up to board the flight.

Gulf Air’s UK network

Like most carriers in the Middle East that operate a hub-and-spoke model, Gulf Air relies on the Indian subcontinent for significant traffic to the West. The airline sees demand for popular flights to the UK and flies to two destinations there: London Heathrow Airport and Manchester.

According to Cirium, the aviation analytics company, Gulf Air has a total of 166 return flights between the United Kingdom and Bahrain International Airport.