UK flight diverted to Amsterdam after 'unusual smell' detected mid air

26 January 2024 , 19:04

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An 'unusual' smell forced a UK-bound Lufthansa flight to land in Amsterdam (stock image) (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

A UK-bound plane was diverted to Amsterdam after an 'unusual smell' was detected on board.

The Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Edinburgh on January 21 had to touch down in the Dutch capital for checks after crew members reported a strange stench in the cabin.

The plane landed safely at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the 84 passengers onboard were evacuated, before being put on another flight back to Frankfurt.

The airline said passengers were then booked on alternative flights to Edinburgh.

Lufthansa confirmed the Airbus A320-Neo, registered D-AINC, was checked and no technical issues were discovered.

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A spokesperson for Lufthansa told the Daily Record: "Lufthansa flight LH964 on 21 January 2024, on route from Frankfurt to Edinburgh with 84 passengers and 6 crew members did divert to Amsterdam as there was an unusual smell was noticed in the cabin.

"By precaution the crew decided to divert to an airport near by. The Airbus A320-Neo, registered D-AINC, did land normally at Amsterdam Schiphol airport. No emergency landing was declared, the safety of this flight was never compromised. The aircraft was checked by maintenance and was put back into service one day later as there was no technical finding."

It comes as a different plane full of passengers declared an emergency this week after failing to land at Manchester Airport several times because of high winds. The Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 had been due to land at Manchester after taking off from Singapore Changi Airport at around 2.30am this morning. However, after two attempts to touch down were missed it declared an emergency, believed to be over a lack of fuel, and instead flew south to East Midlands Airport where it landed safely.

During Storm Isha some 83 planes were forced to divert to far flung places including Hungary, Germany and France as they could not land. One Ryanair plane from Manchester came within metres of touching down at Dublin Airport, only to abandon the landing and divert 500 miles to Paris, where the calmer weather made hitting the tarmac possible.

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas