Cancun, Q.R. — Five people were sent to hospital after a Thomas Cook flight bound for Cancun began to fill with smoke.
Four crew members and one passenger on a Thomas Cook flight to Cancun from Frankfurt needed to be hospitalized for smoke inhalation after the British Airbus A330 made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport after smoke appeared in the cabin.
The plane, which was carrying 337 passengers and crew, was about four hours into its flight when the smoke appeared. Flying over international airspace in the North Atlantic, the crew declared an emergency and requested to return to Shannon Airport.
The terminal’s emergency equipment was deployed to accompany the plane during the landing, however, crew relayed to air traffic control that the smoke had dissipated and that they would be landing without incident.
Passengers were taken off the flight and put up in hotels until they were able to board another flight for Cancun the next day. The Thomas Cook plane was grounded and inspected. According to Thomas Cook, the smoke was caused by a liquid spill on the cockpit panel.
Folks on the Cancun-bound flight from Germany did arrive safely Friday.
