Video: '(June 27, 1966) The Beatles am 26. Juni 1966 in der Ernst Merck Halle.'
(Monday, June 27, 1966, 4:05 a.m. Central European Time) — Following their three-city, six-show mini-tour of West Germany, The Beatles flew today from Fuhlsbüttel Airport in Hamburg to London Airport to catch a connecting flight to Japan to perform five shows in Tokyo, but a decidedly unscheduled typhoon rerouted them to Alaska in the United States, where they spent the night at the Westwood Hotel in Anchorage.
Video: 'The Beatles at the Westwood Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, 1966'
After a brief flight and touchdown at London’s Heathrow Airport at 5:00 a.m. British Summer Time, the band boarded Japan Airlines Flight 403. The Boeing 707 departed London at 11:05 a.m. BST.
While crossing the North Pole, the flight was informed that Typhoon Kit had reached the Japanese coast with 100 mph winds, making a landing in Tokyo impossible. The pilot opted to divert to Anchorage, touching down at 1:45 p.m. Alaska Standard Time.
The Beatles were escorted through the terminal by local authorities at 2:30 p.m., stopping briefly to inspect a display featuring a stuffed polar bear before being whisked away to the Westward Hotel. By 4:00 p.m. local time, an estimated 500 local fans had surrounded the building, prompting a massive security presence.
The band occupied the hotel’s 14th-floor Presidential Suite, where they reportedly spent the evening dining on hamburgers and monitoring the crowd below. Ringo Starr was seen documenting the scene with a portable cassette recorder, while John Lennon tested a new Polaroid camera.
The Beatles finally departed Anchorage at 1:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, June 28, bringing their 11-hour Alaskan odyssey to a close.
After re-boarding the Japan Airlines Boeing 707, the group began the final eight-hour leg of their journey, crossing the International Date Line and effectively “losing” the remainder of the calendar day.
They would ultimately touch down at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport at 3:40 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Thursday, June 30.
| Event | Local Date | Local Time | Time Zone | New York Times (EDT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depart Hamburg | June 27 | 04:05 AM | CET (UTC+1) | 11:05 PM (June 26) |
| Arrive London | June 27 | 05:00 AM | BST (UTC+1) | 12:00 AM (Midnight) |
| Depart London | June 27 | 11:05 AM | BST (UTC+1) | 06:05 AM |
| Arrive Anchorage | June 27 | 01:45 PM | ALST (UTC-10) | 07:45 PM |
| Depart Anchorage | June 28 | 01:00 AM | ALST (UTC-10) | 07:00 AM (June 28) |
| Arrive Tokyo | June 29 | 03:39 AM | JST (UTC+9) | 02:39 PM (June 28) |
