Smelly Passenger Causes Emergency Landing

Image: PHOTO: Passenger covers ears on an airplane. (photo via Kritchanut/iStock/Getty Images Plus)
Image: PHOTO: Passenger covers ears on an airplane. (photo via Kritchanut/iStock/Getty Images Plus)
Donald Wood
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:39 PM ET, Fri June 1, 2018

A Transavia Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Portugal after a foul-smelling passenger caused several people on the plane to become physically ill.

According to the Daily Mail, Transavia Flight HV5666 departed from Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands en route to the Spanish island of Gran Canaria when passengers began reporting of a strong odor emanating from a male passenger.

People started to complain to flight attendants, including a Belgian passenger identified as Piet van Haut, who said the man smelled like he had not bathed in several weeks. The other passengers started to become physically ill by the smell, causing some to faint and vomit.

The number of passengers impacted by the odor caused the captain of the flight to call for an emergency landing, and crew members attempted to keep the man inside the bathroom while the plane was diverted.

When the flight finally made its emergency landing at Faro Airport in Portugal, it was met by medical personnel who removed the man and placed him on a bus.

A Transavia spokesperson confirmed the plane was forced to divert due to medical reasons but did not clarify if the man's foul smell was caused by a medical condition.

"The aeroplane diverted because of medical reasons, but it is indeed right that he smelled quite a bit," the spokesperson told local media outlets.


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Donald Wood

Donald Wood

Managing Editor

Donald Wood is TravelPulse’s Managing Editor, bringing nearly 15 years of experience to the desk. He currently lives outside Philadelphia with his wife and two children.

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