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Easyjet plane (at London Gatwick Airport): "I don't think we'll be flying this evening"
Photo: Snapsyby / Pond5 Images / IMAGO
A pilot from the British airline Easyjet is said to have refused to take off because he noticed a strange smell. Numerous British media reported on Tuesday, citing passenger information, about the incident, which had already occurred on Wednesday last week at Birmingham Airport.
Accordingly, the plane carrying 106 passengers was supposed to fly to Geneva and was already preparing to take off when the pilot made an announcement to the people on board: "Bad news: I don't think we'll be flying this evening," he said it accordingly. The reason for the decision was that he noticed a “strange smell” in the back of the cabin. He described this as “chemical”. Other passengers or crew members reportedly did not smell anything, but for safety reasons the pilot decided not to fly.
Witnesses reported that it took up to five hours after the decision was made before they were informed that they would spend the night in a hotel. In addition, the flight and ground staff “went home” after the plane was evacuated and the care of the passengers was left to a third-party company.
Easyjet left a SPIEGEL query about what might have caused the pilot's perception and what happened to the plane as a result unanswered until Wednesday evening.
British media quoted a statement from the company saying that the flight was “delayed overnight.” Easyjet apparently did not want or could not give the exact reason. Instead, there was general talk of “technical problems.” “Our ground handling partner Swissport supported the customers throughout their entire time at the airport,” it also said. The following morning we left for Geneva at 9:20 a.m. The company operates its aircraft fleet “in strict compliance with the guidelines of all manufacturers.”
Sol