NEWS BRIEF: Diverted flight from South Africa to Atlanta “not COVID-related”

A Delta Air Lines flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, en route to Atlanta was diverted to Boston on Sunday for what officials described as a payload issue and was not related to the new coronavirus omicron variant discovered there. “The redirection of the flight had to do with the technical specifications of our A350 aircraft and the payload of this particular flight,” a Delta spokeswoman stated. “This can happen on ultra-long-haul flights when optimal operating conditions can’t be met.” The omicron strain, first discovered by South African scientists, is “a variant of concern,” according to the World Health Organization. Starting today, Monday, the United States is restricting the arrival of flights from eight nations in the southern region of the African continent. thehill.com