Air France flight diverted to Iran over ventilation 'malfunction,' officials say

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An Air France jet flying from Paris to Mumbai on Wednesday was diverted to an airport in Iran after officials say the aircraft suffered a “malfunction” in the ventilation system.

Air France flight 218 departed from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris just after 11:00 a.m. local time. The airline crew decided to land the plane in Shahid Beheshti International Airport in Esfahan, Iran, around 7:35 p.m. after being alerted to a malfunction on board.

It was unclear how many passengers were onboard or if any Americans were among them. A spokesperson from the State Department told Fox News it was "closely monitoring" the situation.

Picture above is an Airbus A320, operated by JOON, a subdivision of Air France. This is a model previous to the aircraft that landed in Iran on Wednesday. (Anna Zvereva)

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Airline officials told Fox News the Airbus A340, operated by JOON, “decided to divert to Isfahan airport (Iran) following a malfunction of the ventilation system, in line with the manufacturer's procedures and in accordance with the precautionary principle.”

Several hours later, the plane departed for Al Maktoun International Dubai Airport at around 11:00 p.m. after “technical checks” were performed by “on-site maintenance teams,” the airline later told Fox News. The passengers will be re-routed to their original destination once in Dubai, officials added.

Fox News' Rich Edson contributed to this report.