An “unpleasant odour” was found on a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, forcing the pilot to turn around in midair. The pilots decided to return the plane to Los Angeles because of the stench, which they said was caused by a passenger’s rotting food. The problem happened on October 18, while Delta Air Lines flight 2311, flying an Airbus A321neo, was headed to Salt Lake City, according to ABC4. The crew chose to return to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) rather than continue the nearly two-hour flight with the odor still present in the cabin.
Delta eventually acknowledged that the ruined food was carried on board by a traveler and had nothing to do with the airline’s catering department. Four flight attendants, two pilots, and 189 passengers were all on board the aircraft as it made a safe and incident-free landing back at LAX.
“As nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, our crew followed standard procedures to safely return to Los Angeles after an unpleasant odour was detected onboard,” a Delta representative told People Magazine in a statement. In order to make amends for the inconvenience, the airline scheduled a second flight to Utah.
Delta has experienced a food-related diversion previously. In July of last year, faulty in-flight meals forced a Detroit-to-Amsterdam flight to make an emergency stop in New York. Go here to learn more about it.
These kinds of occurrences serve as a reminder that, even while flying may seem like a typical activity, minor details, such as what’s in your lunchbox, can cause unforeseen detours.
