- An American Airlines flight to Tokyo turned back to the US in a 12-hour journey.
- The Boeing 787 U-turned over the Pacific Ocean due to a "maintenance issue."
- It's one of the longest flight diversions this year.
American Airlines passengers spent more than half a day on a plane — only to end up in Texas instead of Tokyo.
Monday's Flight 167 took off from New York's JFK Airport about 11 a.m. ET.
Seven hours into the journey, the Boeing 787 U-turned over the Pacific Ocean — about 900 miles off the western Canadian coastline, per data from Flightradar24.
It then traveled for another five hours, crossing half the US to land at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport shortly after 10 p.m. local time.
The roughly 12-hour trip was only about an hour shy of the average flight time from New York to Tokyo.
One Reddit user who said they were on the flight said there was no meal service on board, "so we've gone 14 hours with only dried snap peas as a snack."
An airline spokesperson told Business Insider the flight was diverted due to "a maintenance issue."
"We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans, and we are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused," they added.
Passengers were put up in hotels overnight before the flight departed again the following day.
While spending hours on a diverted flight can be frustrating for passengers, it's typically an easier alternative for the airline than landing at the closest airport.
For example, the flight went past Seattle and Denver — but Dallas is American's main hub. Landing there likely made it easier to reroute passengers, find new crew, and repair any issues with the plane.
Diverted flights can also be costly for airlines, with knock-on effects on their schedules. Data from Flightradar24 shows a return flight from Tokyo to New York was canceled on Tuesday, as was a flight from Dallas to Philadelphia scheduled for the same plane.
The passengers' 12-hour ordeal is among the lengthiest diversions this year.
In February, an American Airlines flight from New York to Delhi landed in Rome after 15 hours, and had to be escorted by Italian fighter jets due to a bomb threat.
Last month, an Air India flight turned back to Chicago after most of its bathrooms stopped working, resulting in a nine-hour flight to nowhere.
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