A transatlantic flight has turned around over Ireland and returned to London’s Heathrow airport after the crew reported a smell on board.
The crew of Air Canada flight 851 issued a radio distress call at around 2.20pm and told air traffic controllers here that they wished to return to London.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had been en route to Calgary in Canada at the time however the crew decided to return to London rather than land in Ireland.
The crew had been in contact with controllers at the Irish Aviation Authority’s North Atlantic Communications Centre at Ballygirreen at the time.
The crew reported that a smell, which they thought may have been electrical, was detected in the passenger cabin but that the source could not be identified.
The pilot opted to return to Heathrow where flight touched safely at around 3.20pm.
An Air Canada spokeswoman said: “The Captain on AC-85, with 145 passengers, elected to return to Heathrow shortly after departure out of an abundance of caution due to an electrical odour in the cabin.
Arrangements were proactively made to get as many customers on their way to their final destinations as soon as possible on our flight to Toronto. The aircraft, a B787 has since been inspected and cleared by technical teams, and the flight will re-depart for Calgary with the remaining customers,” the airline added.
Last week, an American Airlines flight turned around over the Atlantic off Iceland and flew 2,000 kilometres back to Heathrow after several passengers fell ill.
Crews often opt to return to their airport of origin rather than land at the nearest airpot if the issue is not an urgent one.