LONDON — A British Airways flight arriving from the holiday island of Ibiza was met by a swarm of emergency vehicles on the tarmac at London Gatwick Airport on Saturday afternoon following reports of an unusual odor inside the flight deck.
The incident involved flight BA2681, operated by BA Euroflyer, a wholly-owned subsidiary of British Airways.
The aircraft, an Airbus A320 with registration G-EUUV, suffered a significant delay prior to departure from Ibiza Airport (IBZ). Originally scheduled to take off at 13:55 CEST, the flight did not depart until late in the afternoon, finally getting airborne at 15:22 CEST.
According to preliminary reports, the pilots identified an unexplained odor in the cockpit while en route. Acting out of an abundance of caution, the flight crew alerted air traffic control and requested that medical assistance be ready on arrival for the crew members.
Despite the cockpit issue, the flight continued its planned trajectory toward the United Kingdom. Following a flight time of approximately two hours, the Airbus A320 touched down safely at London Gatwick.
Immediately upon landing, the aircraft was completely surrounded by fire trucks, flashing emergency vehicles, and support units as a standard precautionary measure. Medical personnel met the aircraft to evaluate the crew.
The aircraft involved remains on the ground at Gatwick while engineers conduct a thorough investigation to identify and resolve the technical cause behind the odor. It will resume service Monday early in the morning.
