Istanbul–London British Airways flight makes emergency landing in Romania

A British Airways flight travelling from Istanbul to London made an emergency landing in Romania’s capital on October 9 after four passengers reportedly experienced possible smoke inhalation, according to the Associated Press.

Authorities later confirmed that none of the affected passengers required medical treatment and that everyone was safely evacuated.

According to Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport, the Airbus A320, carrying 142 passengers, requested an emergency landing at 5:50 p.m. local time (1420 GMT) and touched down safely at 6:14 p.m. (1514 GMT). Emergency response teams, including medical personnel, immediately boarded the aircraft after landing.

There were conflicting accounts regarding the presence of smoke inside the plane. While British Airways stated it had received no reports of smoke, Romania’s Health Ministry announced shortly after the landing that “the presence of smoke was confirmed” and that all passengers had been evacuated. The ministry initially reported that “four people are in poor health, possibly being smoke-intoxicated, and are receiving medical assistance on site,” but later clarified that none of them required further medical care.

In a statement to the Associated Press, British Airways said, “The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our top priority, and our crew made the decision to divert as a precaution due to a suspected technical issue.” The airline added that “the aircraft landed safely, customers disembarked normally, and we received no reports of smoke on board or hospitalisations.”

“We’re sorry to our customers for the disruption to their journeys, and our teams are working to get them on their way again as quickly as possible,” the airline said.

According to the British Airways flight status page, Flight BA603 was marked as diverted, with a message reading: “We’re very sorry, this flight scheduled from Istanbul to London has been diverted to Bucharest.” 

By Tamilla Hasanova