On 3 January, a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 (EI-EFY) operated flight FR4052 between Manchester, United Kingdom, and Faro, Portugal. The aircraft, however, was forced to make a quick descent towards and operate a precautionary landing at the airport of Brest, France, after an unidentified smell in the cabin.
Emergency services awaited the aircraft upon landing.
Social media reports claim that a fire broke outside or inside the aircraft, but a Ryanair spokesperson quickly denied these allegations: “Passengers disembarked the aircraft as normal and were taken to a secure area in Brest airport where they were provided with refreshments,” was told to Sky News.
A replacement aircraft departed London Stansted and passengers were able to continue their journey to Faro albeit with a delay of around three hours.
Although the aircraft was released back to service, the aircraft only did a short taxi on the apron of Brest Airport, before returning to the gate (4 January). At the moment of writing, EI-EFY is still parked at Brest.
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