A Swiss International Airlines passenger plane carrying 222 passengers made an emergency landing in Portugal after issuing a distress signal over the Atlantic Ocean.
The Boeing 777-300ER was operating a transatlantic flight from Chicago, Illinois, to Zurich, Switzerland, on the morning of August 25 when a sharp odour in economy class forced pilots to divert. The liner landed safely at Lajes Airport in Portugal at 11:30 a.m. Moscow time, where all 222 passengers disembarked.
According to German news outlet RTL, the aircraft broadcast a distress signal over the ocean before changing course. Lajes Airport is situated on Terceira Island in the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic that frequently serves as an emergency stopover point for transatlantic flights.
Cabin odour causes illness
The exact origin of the specific cabin smell remains unknown. The unusual odour affected people on board, with several passengers and crew members complaining of eye irritation and nausea during the flight.
Swiss International Airlines, the national airline of Switzerland, relies on the Boeing 777-300ER wide-body twinjet for long-haul intercontinental routes. The aircraft connects major international hubs such as Zurich Airport, the carrier's primary home base, with destinations across North America.
Previous airline odour incidents
The diversion in Portugal follows a previous cabin smell incident earlier in the summer involving a flight bound for the United States operated by German airline Lufthansa.
On June 27, a Lufthansa passenger airliner flying from Frankfurt, Germany, to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey was forced to interrupt its flight. That incident occurred after the flight crew noticed the smell of burnt brakes inside the aircraft.
Lufthansa is the flag carrier of Germany, operating out of its primary hub at Frankfurt Airport. Newark Liberty International Airport serves the metropolitan region of New York and New Jersey, handling millions of transatlantic passengers annually.
