An Air France aircraft flying from Paris, France, to São Paulo, Brazil, was diverted to the island of Terceira in the Azores after encountering technical issues last Friday.
The Airbus A350-900 experienced an electrical failure while crossing the parallel of the Canary Islands, located west of the Spanish archipelago, and was subsequently declared ‘Mayday’ – a code word for emergency.
Initially directed to the island of Santa Maria in the Azores for an emergency landing, Air France opted to divert the aircraft to Lajes Airport on Terceira instead.
Flight AF460 landed safely and without incident, with passengers disembarking the aircraft, registered as F-HTYC, as usual.
Avião da airfrance AF460 saindo de Paris com destino a São Paulo fez um pouso de emergência por conta de uma pane elétrica em numa base militar na Ilha de Açores em Portugal.@airfrance @airfrancebr @avioesemusicas @flightradar24 @CNNBrasil @cnnportugal @GloboNews pic.twitter.com/s0Pt8VuIDY
— Mp (@Mp52570830) August 8, 2025
Air France confirmed the emergency landing in a statement. “Air France confirms that the crew of flight AF460, on August 8, 2025, from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to São Paulo-Guarulhos, decided, as a precaution, to divert to the island of Terceira (Azores Archipelago, Portugal) after detecting an unusual smell of heating in the cabin,” it stated.
According to the airline, which apologized for the incident, the aircraft landed normally at Terceira at 2:44 PM, and a replacement aircraft with a new crew and staff was sent to assist passengers.
The AF459 flight, Paris-São Paulo, scheduled for the same afternoon, was canceled.
A video of the landing was also shared on the YouTube channel IslandAviation Terceira Azores, which can be viewed below:
