A Delta flight made an emergency landing on Saturday after a strange odor was detected in the plane by cabin crew.
Flight DL504 was headed from Orlando to Los Angeles when it was diverted and made an emergency landing at Tampa International Airport at around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
A Delta spokesperson told the Daily Beast the unexpected emergency landing of the Airbus A321 was due to “an abundance of caution” after the odor was noticed.
The spokesperson said customers were accommodated on an alternative aircraft and departed for Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, arriving at 5:40 p.m.
“At Delta, the safety of our customers and crew comes before anything else, and we appreciate our customers’ patience,” the spokesperson added.
There were 194 passengers and six crew members onboard at the time of the diversion.
Delta officials did not identify the cause or origin of the odor.
This is the second incident this month involving a Delta flight and a mystery odor. On Dec. 16, a Delta flight landing in Texas required emergency services on arrival after reporting an “unknown odor or fumes” inside the cabin, according to the San Antonio Fire Department.
After the flight arrived at San Antonio International Airport, five individuals reported feeling ill. They were evaluated on the site by an EMS team and four airport fire department units, but did not require further medical treatment.
A Wall Street Journal investigation in September found an acceleration in the rate of passengers and crew becoming ill after toxic fumes from a jet’s engine leaked unfiltered into the cabin or cockpit. The design of most modern aircraft sees the air inside the aircraft pulled through the plane’s engine.
