A British Airways plane has been forced to make an emergency landing in Holland after smoke reportedly started filling the cockpit mid-air.
The flight was en route from London to Norwegian city Oslo when the Captain alerted air traffic controllers and told them the plane would need to touch down immediately.
Several fire engines and emergency vehicles were sent to the runway at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport where the Airbus A320 with up to 190 people onboard touched down.
Terrified passengers were reportedly told the plane had to land due to ‘safety fears’ before they were led out the rear door, which was the furthest away from the allegedly smoking cockpit.
Flight BA764 left Heathrow shortly after 5pm yesterday, but the Captain had to issue the distress call just 90 minutes into the flight.
Several fire engines and emergency vehicles were sent to the runway at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport where the Airbus A320 with up to 190 people onboard touched down
The flight was en route from London to Norwegian city Oslo when the Captain alerted air traffic controllers and told them the plane would need to touch down immediately
Flight BA764 left Heathrow shortly after 5pm yesterday, but the Captain had to issue the distress call just 90 minutes into the flight. The plane landed at 7.38pm and was blocking the runway while emergency services cleared the aircraft
The plane landed at 7.38pm and was blocking the runway while emergency services cleared the aircraft.
This caused even more delays at Schiphol airport, where the schedule was already changed to clear the runway for the BA flight.
Investigators are now examining the jet to see what caused the reported smoke.
Passengers were put up in hotels in Amsterdam yesterday and were able to continue their journey to Oslo today with a different aircraft.
‘Smoke in the cockpit is never a good thing and at 30,000ft it’s alarming to say the least,’ a source told the Sun.
‘It was a rough ride for the passengers but they were in safe hands. Landing the jet at a remote part of the airfield in Amsterdam shows how serious the situation was.’
The source added that the plane was landed on the remote runway to keep the ‘smoking jet as far from the terminal building as possible’.
British Airways said in a statement: ‘This aircraft was diverted into Amsterdam Schiphol Airport as a precaution following a minor technical issue onboard.
‘We’ve apologised to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans.’