United Airlines & JetBlue Transatlantic Flights Forced To Divert To Boston To Refuel

On July 20th, 2024, two airlines flying to New York from Europe planned to divert to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) for refueling. However, only one flight actually diverted to BOS.

Flight tracking service Air Live reported the diversions.

JetBlue Flight 1408

JetBlue Airways Flight 1408 flies nonstop from Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG) to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) using an Airbus A321neo. According to ch-aviation, the aircraft is registered N2151J and is only one year old.

The aircraft departed from CDG at 08:55 local time for a routine flight to JFK, which usually takes eight to nine hours. However, the airline announced that the flight would be diverted to BOS without providing passengers with a reason. Simple Flying has reached out to JetBlue for a comment.

According to Flight Aware, the plane arrived at BOS at 13:22 EDT, two hours later than it would usually arrive at JFK, and then proceeded to refuel.

Photo: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock

There is a discrepancy, as Flight Aware notes that the flight from BOS to JFK took off at 12:24 EDT and landed at 13:07 EDT before the original flight landed. However, Air Live confirmed that JB1408 landed at BOS for refueling.

The airline has not provided a statement or reason why the aircraft did not carry enough fuel to reach its destination. However, the two-hour en-route delay could have resulted in the flight being rerouted due to weather or ATC considerations.

United Airlines Flight 69

United Airlines Flight 69 was in a similar situation. It operates nonstop from Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), using a Boeing 757-200. The aircraft is registered N33132, a 26-year-old aircraft with over 90,000 flight hours.

The aircraft departed from ARN at 09:32 local time for a flight that usually takes around eight and a half hours. Halfway through the flight, however, it was meant to divert to BOS. United stated that the aircraft needed additional fuel due to a weight and balance restriction.

The fueling diversion to BOS would’ve added another 1 hour and 25 minutes to the total travel time. However, the aircraft didn’t end up diverting or needing extra fuel. The flight canceled the diversion and continued to EWR as planned, landing at 12:04 EDT, within the on-time window.

Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock

It is unclear why the diversion was abandoned and how the aircraft overcame the weight and balance restriction to fly to EWR while maintaining regulatory fuel reserves successfully. Simple Flying has contacted United Airlines for a statement about the flight.

Two coincidences?

The two aircraft were on similar routes, traveling from Europe to the state of New York at roughly the same time. They had to divert for refueling, but only the JetBlue flight diverted and refueled. It is unclear why both airlines thought they didn’t have enough fuel to reach their destination.

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