TWO British Airways flight were forced to make emergency landings after passenger reported “smoke” and a “burning smell”.
Business class passengers on a flight from Boston to Heathrow told flight attendants they could smell smoke coming from seat 12A.
The flight was over the Atlantic Ocean and 600 miles from the nearest airport and the decision was taken to divert to St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
It landed nearly two hour later with the 106 passengers and crew taken to the airport terminal while an inspection was carried out by fire fighters.
Two attendants were taken to hospital having inhaled fumes when they tried to locate the source of the smell.
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The two crew members were later released after a check-up, the Canadian Transport Safety Board said.
An inspection of the seating area, in-flight entertainment and units and overhead panels failed to find any source of the burning smell on February 10.
In a second incident, flight attendants on BA216 from Washington Dulles airport to London had to spray a fire extinguisher after reports of burning minutes after take-off.
The captain then declared an emergency to air traffic controllers and the plane landed in Halifax, Canada.
All the passengers disembarked normally while fire crews carried out an inspection on February 1.
Passenger John Paul Bayfield posted a video of attendants with oxygen tanks on board and wrote: “BA216 emergency landing at Halifax. Fire crews moving through cabin with FLIR. All safe. Crew excellent.”
A report by the Canadian Transport Safety Board revealed crew had used a halon fire extinguisher on a seat in the business class section.
Passengers had reported an acrid burning smell although there was no visible smoke around the seats that fold into beds, the report said.
The BA flight crew declared a pan-pan emergency, which is an aviation term meaning the situation is not life-threatening but urgent assistance is needed.
Many smoke incidents on international flight have been blamed on lithium batteries catching fire, in recent years.
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A spokesman for British Airways said: “Both flights diverted as a precaution due to technical issues and they landed normally.
“We apologised to our customers for the disruption to their journey and got them on their way as soon as possible. Safety is always our highest priority.”
