England football fans returning from Berlin on Monday morning have been left stranded after their flight made an emergency landing minutes after take-off to Manchester – because of an “undefined odour in the cabin”.
The Airbus A319 jet operating Eurowings flight EW8470 took off at 8.09am, local time, climbed to 10,000 feet but then turned and landed back at Berlin at 8.26am. The plane was met by the airport fire service.
On board were fans who had attended Sunday night’s Euro 2024 final, in which Spain beat England.
One of them, Gareth Davies from Wigan, told The Independent: “A few minutes into the flight the captain came on and said we had to go back to Berlin due to a warning light flashing on the controls.
“Upon landing we sat there for a short period and :a smell of burning entered the cabin. We were told not to worry about the fire engines, take our luggage and not to take photos or videos ‘because we don’t want to be on TikTok’.
“We disembarked and gathered on the Tarmac surrounded by firefighters before buses took us to the terminal. Upon arrival at the terminal there was no one there except passport control. We hadn’t been told what would happen next so we all went through passport control.
“People had no clue about their checked bags and many exited the baggage hall – I only had carry on.”
The airline said: “There was no danger to passengers or crew at any time.”
Mr Dennis wrote on X about his experience. A Eurowings representative replied: “Please go to one of our Eurowings counters at the airport so that our colleagues can help you with a rebooking and other questions. Our colleagues will be happy to help.”
But Mr Dennis then wrote: “Please stop pretending on social media that you have colleagues in the airport and start sorting out the issue at hand – providing assistance, clear advice on what to do and clarity on when people can get home.
“ ‘One of our counters’, Linda? There isn’t a Eurowings counter at Berlin airport. There is an Airline Assistance Switzerland counter that is kindly trying to help everyone.
“No Eurowings employees here. Please arrange for a Eurowings employee to come to Berlin airport to assist us.”
Another passenger, tweeting as @JHats90, wrote: “The only communication was from the air hostess to tell us not to film as they ‘don’t want to be on TikTok’. That’s the last we heard from @eurowings.”
Eurowings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, is based in Dusseldorf. It has a network of mainly domestic flights to and from Berlin. The airline had laid on a number of extra flights from London and Manchester to Berlin to cater for the demand from England fans.
A spokesperson for the airline said: “Flight EW8470 from Berlin to Manchester made an unscheduled return to Berlin this morning due to an undefined odour in the cabin.
“An ‘air emergency’ was declared, a standard procedure to obtain a prioritised landing. The aircraft landed normally at BER at around 8.30 am.
“Passengers and crew left the aircraft via passenger stairs provided and were taken to the terminal by bus. The aircraft was then inspected by the fire brigade. There were no findings. There was neither a fire nor smoke in the cabin.
“There were 150 passengers on board the Airbus A319. There was no danger to passengers or crew at any time. Safety is always the top priority at Eurowings. The passengers affected will be rebooked on alternative flights.”
Under European air passengers’ rights rules, Eurowings must get passengers to their destination as soon as possible, and meanwhile provide meals and, if necessary, accommodation.
Shortly before noon, Mr Davies said: “Still zero Eurowings employees showing their faces. Currently debating whether to book a hotel here for the night or train it to another city where there’s a flight.”
Keith Oswin posted: “So even the fans aren’t coming home then …”