A really unbearable stench has caused serious
commotion inside a plane as it is forced to land
unscheduled.
The plane, a British Airways holiday jet has been
forced to make an emergency landing.
forced to make an emergency landing.
The plane made an emergency landing today after
the stench of cannabis filled the cabin.
One of the passengers, Stuart Barnes, 40, said:
“The smell was unmistakable.”
According to The Sun UK, the plane returned to
Gatwick after 90 minutes, costing BA £50,000 and
causing travel chaos. Fire crews rushed aboard to
check out the overpowering smell. The cause and
source remains unclear.
Stuart, his wife Susan, 43, and daughters Rosie,
ten, and Olivia, nine were among up to 174
passengers on BA2552 who paid up to £700 for a
return trip.
Finance worker Stuart, from Cardiff, added: “There
was a faint smell when we got on. We were told
that they hoped when they put the air conditioning
on it would clear, but it got even stronger. You
could tell straightaway what it was.
“Everyone at the back of the plane was saying it
smelled of cannabis. We’ve been to Amsterdam and
we know what it smells like.
“Our daughters could smell it but didn’t know what
it was. BA have been very quiet at giving us an
explanation. All they said was the cabin crew was
ill from a pungent smell at the back of the aircraft.
“We were four rows from the back and the whole
back of the plane stank. The smell was
unmistakable. We have no idea where it was
coming from. All the passengers said it smelled
like weed.
“We were quite concerned about what it was and
the crew seemed quite alarmed as well which put
panic among the passengers. My daughter is afraid
of flying anyway and the crew didn’t do much to
make us feel better.”
Another holidaymaker Simon Skinner posted on
Twitter: “British Airways flight to Heraklion turned
back after nasty smell. Disappointed
holidaymakers.”
The plane was diverted over Paris and passengers
spent an hour at Gatwick before a new plane and
crew were organised to fly at midday.
Hundreds in Crete waiting to return to the UK were
delayed by up to six hours, sparking compensation
claims.
BA also ripped up rotas as the crew had flown
beyond their legal hours. The airline apologised but
insisted no one was ill on the flight.
A spokesman said: “Our pilot returned the aircraft
to Gatwick as a precaution following reports of an
unidentified strong smell in the cabin. We are sorry
for the delay to our customers’ journeys.”
