Hundreds of Air France passengers traveling from India to France have endured an ordeal stretching close to two full days after their Bengaluru to Paris service, flight AF191, suffered a major delay, an in-flight engine problem and an unscheduled diversion to Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. What began as a routine overnight long-haul flight turned into a 45 hour saga involving extended ground time, emergency procedures and a complex recovery operation to get travelers back to Paris Charles de Gaulle.

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A Routine Overnight Departure Turns Into a 21 Hour Ground Delay

Air France flight AF191 was originally scheduled to depart Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru for Paris Charles de Gaulle in the early hours of Monday 12 January 2026, with a planned local departure time around 2 a.m. The Boeing 777 200, operating the busy South India to Europe route, instead remained on the ground for most of the day and into the night following what the airline has described as a technical issue identified before departure.

Instead of pushing back in the small hours of Monday, the widebody twin jet did not leave Bengaluru until 11:22 p.m. local time, some 21 hours behind its intended schedule. Passengers reported repeated notifications of delay and rescheduled departure times while the aircraft remained parked and engineers attempted to resolve the problem. The departure time was moved back multiple times, with tired travelers waiting through the night and day inside the terminal.

According to flight tracking data, AF191 finally took off late on Monday evening, by which time many passengers had already lost a full day of their itineraries in Europe and beyond. The extended ground delay in Bengaluru set the stage for a much longer disruption than anyone on board could have anticipated when they first arrived at the airport.

In Flight Engine Problem Forces Diversion to Ashgabat

After finally leaving Bengaluru, the Boeing 777 climbed to cruising altitude and proceeded northwest along its usual corridor over India and Pakistan, then across Afghanistan toward Central Asia. Four hours into the flight, as the aircraft crossed southern Turkmenistan, a fault developed in one of its two General Electric GE90 engines.

Specialist aviation outlets and tracking services report that the crew shut down the affected engine in accordance with standard procedures for long haul twin engine operations. The aircraft, which had been cruising near 36,000 feet, descended to a lower altitude and turned toward Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, which offers a long runway and suitable facilities for widebody diversions.

The crew reportedly transmitted the aviation emergency code known as a 7700 squawk, which signals a general emergency to air traffic controllers and grants the flight priority handling into the nearest suitable airport. While such a code does not automatically indicate imminent danger, it reflects the need to secure a safe and expeditious landing. Air France has described the situation publicly as a technical incident affecting one of the engines.

The 777 landed safely at Ashgabat International Airport at approximately 3:37 a.m. local time on Tuesday 13 January, according to statements from the carrier. There were no reports of injuries, and the aircraft taxied to a remote stand under its own power. For passengers, however, the latest development marked the beginning of a second unplanned, extended stay on the ground.

Passengers Kept Onboard, Then Stranded for Hours in Turkmenistan

Once on the ground in Ashgabat, AF191 did not immediately offload its passengers into the terminal. Turkmenistan’s strict entry procedures meant that travelers and crew were initially required to remain on board the aircraft while local authorities and the airline coordinated next steps. Several accounts shared with media and aviation blogs described a long wait in the parked jet with limited information about when they would be allowed to disembark or continue their journey.

Air France has since confirmed that disembarkation was only possible after formalities with border and airport authorities were completed. Passengers were eventually permitted to leave the aircraft and enter the airport, by which time many had already spent well over 24 hours either in the terminal in Bengaluru or on board the aircraft itself.

Reports from news outlets indicate that travelers remained stuck in Ashgabat for more than 15 hours on Tuesday, as the grounded Boeing 777 was taken out of service pending inspection and a decision on repairs or recovery. While the airline arranged hotel accommodation near the airport, many passengers described uncertainty about when they would fly onward and concern over missed connections, work commitments and prepaid bookings in Europe.

The situation was further complicated by the relatively limited connectivity at Ashgabat International Airport and the lack of direct commercial options for rerouting hundreds of travelers out of Turkmenistan at short notice, leaving the airline to organize its own solution.

Air France Dispatches Rescue Aircraft Amid Operational Constraints

With the original aircraft, registration F GSPI, grounded in Turkmenistan, Air France opted to send a replacement Boeing 777 200 from its Paris Charles de Gaulle hub to Ashgabat to collect the stranded passengers. The airline confirmed that a special flight, operating under the internal code AF386V, departed Paris on Tuesday and routed direct to the Turkmen capital.

According to statements provided to international media, the airline expected the rescue aircraft to depart Ashgabat for Paris later on Tuesday 13 January, with an estimated arrival at Charles de Gaulle at about 2:40 a.m. local time on Wednesday 14 January. These timings were subject to change depending on crew rest considerations, refueling and local handling at an airport that rarely deals with large numbers of Western long haul transfer passengers.

Operational experts note that flying a dedicated recovery aircraft from Europe to Central Asia and back involves complex scheduling and resource decisions, particularly during a busy winter travel period and amid broader disruptions affecting European airspace. Air France had to allocate an additional widebody jet and crew, manage maintenance checks on the replacement aircraft and ensure that it could be integrated back into the long haul schedule after returning from Turkmenistan.

The original 777 has remained on the ground in Ashgabat pending further technical assessment after the engine shutdown event. At more than 26 years old, it is among the more mature aircraft in Air France’s 777 fleet, though the type is widely used globally and regarded as a robust long haul workhorse.

A 45 Hour Journey for Some Passengers

When the original schedule for AF191 was published, passengers booking Bengaluru to Paris expected a journey of roughly 10 hours in the air, plus a modest check in time. For many on this disrupted service, the end to end travel time swelled to around 45 hours from their initial planned departure in India to final arrival in France.

The chain of events began with the prolonged 21 hour delay before departure from Bengaluru, continued with roughly four hours of normal cruise toward Europe, then added a diversion, emergency landing and more than half a day on the ground in a country where most travelers had neither visas nor prior plans to transit. By the time the replacement aircraft was due to depart Ashgabat for Paris, many passengers had been in continuous travel limbo across three calendar days.

Travelers with onward connections from Charles de Gaulle to other European cities, North America or Africa faced additional disruption. Missed long haul connections often entail rebooking challenges, especially in peak periods when alternative flights may be heavily booked. Some passengers will likely arrive at their final destinations two days or more later than originally planned.

For those on business trips, family visits, or time sensitive journeys such as medical appointments and academic commitments, the cascading delay has had real world consequences beyond the discomfort and fatigue inherent in such a prolonged interruption.

Air France’s Response and Passenger Rights

In public statements, Air France has emphasized that the crew’s decision to shut down the engine and divert to Ashgabat followed company instructions and manufacturer procedures, underscoring that safety took priority over schedule. The airline has expressed regret for the inconvenience caused and highlighted efforts to provide assistance, including hotel accommodation near the airport after passengers were allowed to disembark.

Under European air passenger rights regulations, travelers on flights departing from non EU countries to the European Union on an EU based carrier are generally entitled to care provisions during long delays, including meals, refreshments and hotel stays when necessary. Monetary compensation, however, depends on the root cause of the disruption. Technical defects that are considered inherent to aircraft operations can trigger compensation, while issues deemed extraordinary may exempt the airline.

The combination of the initial technical delay in Bengaluru and the subsequent engine fault in flight will likely be scrutinized by passenger rights organizations and legal experts to determine what level of reimbursement or compensation is due. Regardless of the regulatory classification, affected travelers can expect to receive at least refunds for missed onward segments and support with rerouting, alongside any vouchers or gestures of goodwill the airline may extend.

Consumer advocates stress the importance of passengers keeping boarding passes, receipts for out of pocket expenses and records of communications with the airline, in case they choose to pursue formal claims under European or Indian aviation rules in the weeks ahead.

Safety Record of Twin Engine Long Haul Flights Under Spotlight

The AF191 incident has drawn renewed attention to the safety architecture that underpins modern twin engine operations on long overwater and remote routes. Boeing 777 aircraft, along with many Airbus widebodies, are certified under extended range twin operations standards that require the aircraft and engines to meet strict reliability benchmarks when flying far from diversion airports.

In this case, the shutdown of one GE90 engine and diversion to Ashgabat illustrate how those safeguards are designed to function in practice. The flight crew reduced altitude, proceeded on the remaining engine and landed safely at a suitable alternate airport within a defined time margin. Aviation specialists point out that in flight engine shutdowns, while serious, are rare relative to the huge number of long haul sectors operated every day worldwide.

Investigators and technical teams from both Air France and engine manufacturer General Electric are expected to review the incident closely, examining engine performance data, maintenance records and any fault indications recorded in the aircraft’s systems. The findings will help determine whether the failure stemmed from component wear, a manufacturing issue, maintenance factors or other causes such as foreign object ingestion.

The outcome could inform future inspection protocols and, if necessary, prompt service bulletins or directives affecting similar engines in service with airlines around the world. For travelers, the visible impact is the disruption to their journeys, but within the industry such events also feed into a continuous safety improvement loop.

Growing Pressure on Airlines Amid Winter Disruptions

The ordeal of Air France AF191 comes against a backdrop of elevated operational stress across European aviation in early January 2026. Industry data show that hundreds of flights involving French airports have faced significant delays or cancellations this month due to a mix of weather, air traffic control constraints and technical issues across multiple carriers.

As airlines operate close to capacity on key winter routes and attempt to recover from the systemic shocks of recent years, individual aircraft failures or crew shortages can quickly cascade into wider network disruptions. The decision to dedicate a long haul widebody to retrieve stranded passengers in Turkmenistan, while necessary from a customer service and reputational standpoint, also pulls capacity from other parts of the schedule.

Travel analysts note that such high profile incidents test airlines’ crisis response systems and communication practices. Passengers on AF191 have praised the professionalism of the flight crew during the diversion itself, but some have voiced frustration about limited or inconsistent information during the long hours on the ground, first in Bengaluru and later in Ashgabat.

For travelers planning international trips in the coming weeks, the experience of AF191 underscores the value of flexible itineraries, comprehensive travel insurance and building in contingency time around key appointments or events. For Air France and its peers, it is a reminder that even with robust safety systems, operational resilience and transparent communication remain crucial to maintaining passenger trust when things go wrong.