A packed holiday jet from Bournemouth to Gran Canaria has been diverted to Faro over ‘smoke within the cabin.’
The incident, which took place earlier today, triggered a ‘red code alert’ on the Algarve airport with emergency response vehicles being mobilised although the plane landed safely.
Local sources said the diversion was as a result of ‘smoke within the cabin.’
Jet 2 Flight LS3643 had departed from Bournemouth at 9.55am and was as a result of arrive in Gran Canaria around 3.5 hours later.
It landed at Faro around 12.25pm local time in Portugal.
Greater than 140 passengers are believed to have been on board the Boeing 747.
A Jet2 spokesperson said: ‘Our highly trained crew operating flight LS3643 from Bournemouth to Gran Canaria elected to divert to Faro as a precautionary measure after an aroma was detected within the cabin.
Enroll for all of the most recent stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
‘At no point was safety compromised in any way, and the aircraft landed safely. A standby aircraft will fly customers from Faro to Gran Canaria, and we might in fact wish to sincerely apologise to customers for this delay.’
Although Jet2 described the diversion in a press release as a ‘precautionary measure’ after an ‘aroma’ was detected within the cabin, Portuguese press claimed this afternoon some crew needed to be assisted for smoke inhalation.
In December last 12 months one other Jet2 plane, heading from London Stansted to the Canary Islands, was diverted to Portugal following a red alert.
The Boeing 737 was on its solution to Fuerteventura but as an alternative landed at Faro Airport.
Emergency services including paramedics and firefighters were placed on standby at Faro Airport as a part of protocol red alert procedure.
Civil Protection said 35 vehicles and greater than 80 responders had been mobilised, including their staff, police, ambulances and firefighters.
Squawk Alert, which follows business airlines that declare emergencies, said on its site on X on the time: ‘The crew of Jet2 flight EXS83LV from London to Fuerteventura has declared an emergency and are diverting to Faro.’
One other flight emergency site said: ‘Diverting to Faro as a result of an issue with engine primary.’
Earlier the identical month a plane filled with returning UK tourists needed to divert following mid-air toilet malfunction.
Ryanair flight FR1667 must have reached Bristol around 5pm on December 8 after departing from Fuerteventura at lunchtime.
Nevertheless it diverted to the neighbouring Canary Island of Lanzarote shortly into its 3.5 hour journey after ‘some toilets’ stopped working in keeping with local air traffic controllers.
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Airport employee seriously injured in fall from back door of Jet2 plane
MORE: easyJet and Jet2 issue warnings to anyone flying to 29 popular European countries
MORE: Cancel your weekend plans to binge all 7 episodes of murder mystery on Portugal holiday