Flight from Orlando returns mid-flight after fumes sicken passengers
A Dreamliner flight operated by UK leisure airline Thomson recently turned around mid-flight and returned to Orlando after several crew members and passengers fell ill due to mysterious fumes onboard.
Five passengers were taken to hospital and 27 people were treated for nausea and dizziness when the flight landed, according to reports.
However, Thomson has not stated the cause of the problem on the 787 flight from Orlando to Bristol, England.
Passengers were told 45 minutes into the flight that they would be returning to Sanford airport due to a ‘medical emergency’.
Some crew members were seen wearing oxygen masks and some passengers claimed to have seen smoke from the windows.
When they landed back in Florida, an announcement was made asking those passengers who felt unwell to let staff know and they were checked by a doctor.
Lauren Rowe told the Orlando Sentinel a hazardous-materials team responded and deemed the air quality to be within normal range.
A Thomson spokeswoman declined to give any further information about the cause of the illness, saying only: "Thomson Airways would like to apologize for any inconvenience to our customers onboard flight TOM375 traveling from Orlando to Bristol which was diverted back to Orlando. This was due to two crew members and a small number of passengers feeling unwell.
"We provided passengers with food and accommodation before boarding them onto new flights and everyone is now safely back in the UK.
"The safety of our customers and crew is of paramount importance to us and we would like to reassure everyone that events such as these are rare."
According to the fire report, there was a ‘strong odor from an unknown source’ onboard.
The report said: "Pilot advised there was at least two crew members who were not feeling well and that could be caused by the white mist they observed in the rear of the aircraft.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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