(Courtesy Icelandair)
The first flight from Philadelphia to Iceland was not a smooth one.
That Icelandair flight bound for Reykjavik with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney on board had to be diverted to Boston for an undisclosed reason.
A website tracking commercial flights shows the plane was diverted around 10:45 p.m. Tuesday and landed in Boston at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Neither airport officials in Philadelphia nor Boston responded to requests for comment.
Mayor Kenney’s spokesperson Lauren Hitt put out this statement:
“The mayor is disembarking the plane along with the rest of the delegation and spending the evening in Boston … Additionally, PHL Airport regrets the significant inconvenience this has caused all those on board. We and Icelandair are committed to doing all we can to ensure future travelers have a smooth travel experience on this new route. This is obviously very out of the ordinary.”
Icelandair tweeted an apology for the "inconvenience" in response to a reporter on board the flight.
Kenney's spokeswoman says it is tradition for mayors to visit each other's cities when new international routes are established.
The airline is set to fly four flights to Reykjavik weekly through the fall.
During his time in the City of Brotherly Love, Reykjavik Mayor Dagur Eggertsson spent two days touring the sites.
He had said his city is becoming a major hub to layover for travelers on the way to Europe.
Kenney was scheduled to return Saturday.
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