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1 March, 2019

Multiple Alaska Airlines flights forced to land due to suspicious odours

Boston, MA, United States - February 19, 2019: Alaska Airlines Airbus A320 taking off from Boston Logan International Airport after snow.

Several Alaska Airlines crew members have been hospitalised after suspicious odours forced two of the airline’s flights to make impromptu landings.

According to Business Insider, a strange smell forced an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Orange County/Santa Ana to turn back earlier this week.

A spokesperson for Alaska Airlines told Business Insider that the crew onboard the Airbus aircraft reported a cabin odour during the flight.

“As a precaution, the aircraft returned to Sea-Tac at 9:40am,” the spokesperson said.

“The pilots and flight attendants received a medical evaluation at the airport, and were then transported to the hospital for further evaluation. No passengers were affected or reported any symptoms. The cause of the odour is being investigated.

“The flight was canceled, and those passengers booked on other flights.”

Travel Weekly can confirm that another Alaska Airlines flight suffered a case of bad cabin odour this week.

A spokesperson for the airline said in a statement that crew reported a cabin odour during Alaska Airlines Flight 51 from Chicago to Seattle.

“As a precaution, the aircraft diverted to Minneapolis-St Paul International landing at 7:17pm local time,” the spokesperson said.

“Four crew members were transported to the hospital for evaluation and released. The flight was cancelled and passengers were re-booked to continue on to Seattle.

“Maintenance technicians completed a detailed diagnostic inspection of the aircraft and were unable to recreate the odour. The plane has been returned to service.”

Alaska Airlines have had a recent history of suspicious odour events.

NBC Los Angeles reported in August last year that an Alaska Airlines flight leaving San Francisco for New Orleans with 136 people aboard was diverted to Los Angeles International Airport after the flight crew detected what the airline described as a “strong odour” in the cabin.

The plane landed safely and no emergency was declared.

In a report published by Fortune in 2017, it was revealed that fume-related incidents had led to at least two lawsuits against Boeing Co. by flight attendants with Alaska Air Group Inc. – the parent company of Alaska Airlines – who had fallen ill while working on Boeing 737s.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents America’s pilots, has cited as many as 20,000 fume incidents over the past decade, or about five per day.

Travel Weekly has contacted Alaska Airlines for further comment.

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Alaska Airlines Suspicious odour