"Flying from Incheon to Paris... 'Thought I Boarded the Wrong Flight,' Surprised as Plane Crosses Pacific and Flies Over Arctic"

Paris-bound Flight Takes Unusual "Arctic Route"
China Appears to Have Restricted Airspace Access

A passenger flight departing from Incheon and bound for Paris, France, took an unusually eastward route. Normally, flights to Europe head directly west, but this flight chose a completely opposite detour, resulting in a flight time of over 15 hours. Why did this happen?

Air France flight AF267 using the Arctic route. Flightradar24

According to the industry on October 27, Air France flight AF267, which departed Incheon for Paris at 8:30 a.m. on October 25, used the so-called "Arctic route," passing over the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Arctic region. The actual flight time was 15 hours and 2 minutes.

Due to the use of the Arctic route, the flight took about 1 hour and 30 minutes longer, causing significant inconvenience to passengers. The usual routes, which pass over China, Central Asia, or Russian airspace, typically take an average of 13 hours and 41 minutes.

Passenger A, who was on board the flight, said, "I thought I had boarded a flight to New York by mistake. It was my first time seeing a flight to Europe cross the Pacific and detour over the Arctic. While I don't think there will be any major issues from using the Arctic route once, I was honestly worried about exposure to cosmic radiation."

The reason this flight used the Arctic route was reportedly due to a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) being issued as a result of Chinese military exercises. When a NOTAM is issued by a country, it can prohibit aircraft from entering or exiting its airports or airspace.

An airline industry official stated, "Domestic airlines rarely operate the Arctic route due to concerns about cosmic radiation exposure and longer flight times. Instead, they mainly use the 'Middle East route' to Europe via Southeast and Southwest Asia."