An Aer Lingus plane that left Amsterdam bound for Cork made an emergency landing in Cardiff on Thursday evening.
A passenger on board the aircraft told Wales Online that passengers were told by the pilot that “there was a strange smell noticed towards the front of the aircraft” and that the plane was making an emergency landing in Cardiff Airport as a precautionary measure.
#Squawk7700 Aer Lingus #EI845 from Amsterdam #AMS to Cork #ORK has declared an emergency. @AerLingus @flightradar24 pic.twitter.com/kzcy97FAvX
— AirALERTS (@_AIR_ALERTS_) October 12, 2017
The passenger said that the plane was greeted by fire engines upon landing in Cardiff Airport and that a replacement flight was due to arrive in Cork Airport at approximately 2am on Friday morning.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Cardiff Airport said: “Tonight (Thursday, October 12) an Aer Lingus flight between Amsterdam and Cork diverted to Cardiff Airport having declared a full emergency.
“This landed without issue at approximately 9.05pm.
“The safety and security of staff and customers remains our top priority, and our team responded on landing as per emergency protocols.
“The airport is open and operating as normal with no impact on services.”
In a statement issued to JOE on Friday morning, a spokesperson for Aer Lingus said: “Aer Lingus flight EI 845, flying from Amsterdam to Cork yesterday evening, diverted to Cardiff Airport due to a technical fault with the aircraft.
“The aircraft landed safely at 21:06 and the 169 guests disembarked normally. An aircraft was dispatched from Dublin and brought the guests to Cork late last night. We apologise sincerely to our guests for the disruption to their travel plans.”
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