Kuwait Amiri Flight's A340-500 9K-GBA lands in Rochester after 10-hour crossing

Kuwait Amiri Flight's Airbus A340-500, tail number 9K-GBA, landed at Rochester International Airport (KRST) in Minnesota on Friday, November 6, 2026, at 23:06 UTC. The aircraft departed from Dhokimion Airfield (LGAG) in Agrinion, Greece, at 12:06 UTC, spending 10 hours and 60 minutes in the air. The flight covered a great-circle distance of 4,690 nm (5,397 miles, 8,685 km).

The departure airfield in Agrinion sits at an elevation of 154 feet. The arrival airport in Rochester has a longest runway of 9,034 feet and an elevation of 1,317 feet. The distance from Kuwait International Airport to Rochester is 5,909 nautical miles.

The A340-500 averaged a ground speed of 426 knots and reached a top speed of 558 knots, with a highest altitude of 36,025 feet. Celebplanes estimates the aircraft burned about 7,699 US gallons of fuel, producing roughly 73,964 kg (74.0 metric tons) of CO2, equivalent to driving a car 183,078 miles. The A340-500 is a long-range airliner jet with a typical range of over 8,000 nm and a seating capacity for up to 375 passengers in a standard configuration.

Rochester is not a common destination for Kuwait Amiri Flight. In the tracked window from July 22 to October 26, 2026, none of the fleet's 19 flights landed at Rochester. The fleet's home base is Kuwait International Airport (OKKK) in Kuwait City, and usual destinations include Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Paris, London, Istanbul, and Zurich. Before this flight, 9K-GBA had not been tracked since September 27, when it flew from New York to Zurich. The most recent activity for the fleet was a Boeing 737-900 BBJ3 (9K-GCC) flying from Göppingen to Kuwait City on October 26.

In the 30 days before this flight, the owner's aircraft made two flights totaling 6.1 hours in the air, covering about 2,401 nautical miles. The longest leg was a Boeing 737-900 BBJ3 flight from Göppingen to Kuwait City on October 26, covering 2,099 nautical miles. The most common destinations for the owner's fleet in the tracked window were London, Essex with three landings, and New York and Newburgh with two landings each.

Kuwait is a small but enormously wealthy Gulf state with one of the world's highest per-capita incomes. Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah became Emir in December 2023. The Kuwait Amiri Flight fleet includes two Airbus A340-500s, with 9K-GBA serving as the active long-haul state aircraft. The fleet's crown jewel is a Boeing 747-800 BBJ (9K-GAA) being fitted with a VIP interior in Basel, expected to replace the A340-500s. The fleet also includes a Boeing 737-900 BBJ3 and four Gulfstream G650s for shorter missions and senior government travel.

No news reports directly link Kuwait Amiri Flight to Rochester, Minnesota. Kuwait Amiri Flight's aircraft movements are tracked for observational purposes only.

The aircraft had been on the ground for about 40 days before this flight, since its previous tracked landing in Zurich on September 27. The estimated fuel burn for the A340-500 is 700 US gallons per hour.

The aircraft remains on the ground at Rochester as of the time of this report. Its next destination is not yet known.