PONG AIR

U.S. Flight Diverts to Remote Island After ‘Pungent’ Smell Fills Cabin

They were four hours into their flight across the ocean.

A transatlantic flight has made an emergency landing after a strange odor in the cabin left several passengers feeling unwell. The unidentified stench was detected on Swiss International Air Lines flight LX-9 from Chicago to Zurich, Switzerland, on Monday. The 10-year-old Boeing 777-300—which was carrying 222 passengers and 16 crew—was forced to make an unscheduled detour to the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago about 900 miles west of the mainland. The flight was about four hours into its journey from O’Hare International Airport when passengers noticed a smell in economy class, the Aviation Herald reported, which the airline described as “pungent.” Five passengers and a crew member received medical treatment after the plane landed about 90 minutes later, the airline said. Those affected exhibited symptoms such as irritated eyes, nausea, and headaches. Passengers were picked up by a replacement plane and continued their journey to Zurich. “At this time, we cannot say with certainty what caused the pungent odor in the Economy Class cabin. Our experts will thoroughly inspect the aircraft,” an airline