A British Airways plane was forced to make an emergency landing in the Netherlands after smoke reportedly began to fill the cabin mid-air.
The flight was headed from London to the Norwegian city of Oslo when the captain alerted air traffic controllers and told them the plane would have to land immediately.
Several fire trucks and emergency vehicles were sent to the tarmac at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, where the Airbus A320 landed with up to 190 people on board.
Terrified passengers were reportedly told the plane had to land due to “safety fears” before they were led to the rear door, which was the furthest from the allegedly smoking cabin.
Flight BA764 took off from Heathrow shortly after 5pm yesterday, but the captain had to issue the distress call just 90 minutes into the flight.
Several fire trucks and emergency vehicles were sent to the tarmac at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, where the Airbus A320 landed with up to 190 people on board.
The flight was headed from London to the Norwegian city of Oslo when the captain alerted air traffic controllers and told them the plane would have to land immediately.
Flight BA764 took off from Heathrow shortly after 5pm yesterday, but the captain had to issue the distress call just 90 minutes into the flight. The plane landed at 7:38 p.m. and blocked the runway while emergency services evacuated the plane.
The plane landed at 7:38 p.m. and was blocking the runway while emergency services removed the plane.
This caused even more delays at Schiphol Airport, where the schedule had already been changed to clear the runway for the BA flight.
Investigators are now examining the plane to see what caused the reported smoke.
The passengers were accommodated yesterday in hotels in Amsterdam and today they were able to continue their trip to Oslo on another plane.
“Smoke in the cabin is never a good thing and at 30,000 feet it is alarming, to say the least,” a source told the Sun.
‘It was a difficult journey for the passengers, but they were in good hands. The landing of the plane in a remote area of the Amsterdam airfield shows the seriousness of the situation.’
The source added that the plane landed on the remote runway to keep the “smoking plane as far away from the terminal building as possible.”
British Airways said in a statement: “This aircraft was diverted to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport as a precaution following a minor technical issue on board.
“We have apologized to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans.”