Delta Airlines Flight Diverts to Portugal Due to Smoke

A Delta Airlines flight traveling to Boston had to make an emergency landing in Portugal after smoke filled the cabin, resulting in four individuals being hospitalized.

The Airbus A330 took off from Barcelona, Spain, at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday but was redirected to Porto, Portugal, just two and a half hours into what was supposed to be an eight-and-a-half-hour journey, according to flight tracking data.

While the plane experienced a mechanical problem, officials in Portugal stated that the smoke in the cabin necessitated the emergency landing.

Reports indicated that three passengers and one crew member were taken to a local hospital. A spokesperson from the hospital mentioned that two male passengers were admitted for smoke inhalation, noting that both were exhibiting mild respiratory symptoms but were in stable condition.

The flight, which carried 296 people, flew over northern Spain before it needed to divert about 500 miles off the Portuguese coast. It had reached an altitude of approximately 32,000 feet when the incident occurred.

According to local accounts, twelve people required oxygen while in the air, and eight were treated on the tarmac at Porto’s Francisco Sá Carneiro airport. Interestingly, the remaining passengers were not placed on an alternate Delta flight that evening.

Additionally, a Boston-bound flight scheduled to depart from Porto the following day was canceled, as noted in the flight tracking updates.

Delta plans to operate a Boston flight from Barcelona at 3:15 p.m. on Monday.

This incident recalls another emergency landing made by a Delta flight bound for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which was diverted back to Atlanta just 15 minutes after takeoff due to reports of smoke onboard. That flight left Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport early in the morning on August 13.