An easyJet flight to the UK was forced to make an emergency landing after a smell of smoke on board caused alarm.
The Airbus A320 aircraft was taking holidaymakers from Cyprus to Bristol Airport when passengers smelled smoke inside the plane.
The plane was about an hour and 20 minutes into the flight from Paphos yesterday and cruising over the Mediterranean when the pilot was alerted.
The passenger plane had reached an altitude of about 36,000 ft when the pilot sent an emergency code to the nearest air traffic control, signalling an issue on board.
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The flight was diverted to Izmir Adnan Menderes International Airport on Turkey’s coast at about 9.23pm local time.
EasyJet told the Mirror: ‘We can confirm that flight EZY2902 from Paphos to Bristol diverted to Izmir due to a technical issue which resulted in a smoke smell onboard.
‘The aircraft landed safely in Izmir and was met by emergency services as a routine and precautionary measure only.
‘All passengers disembarked as normal into the terminal and were provided with hotel accommodation and meals where required.
‘Passengers will continue to Bristol on a replacement aircraft later today.
‘The safety of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines.
‘We would like to thank customers for their understanding and apologise for the inconvenience caused.’
The first EasyJet flight from Izmir airport to Bristol is thought to depart at 10pm today.
The emergency incident comes after the aviation industry has been rocked by the Air India plane disaster, which killed all except one person on board.
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