Smoke scare on flight out of Cyprus

Passengers on a flight from Larnaca to London had to spend the night in Athens after their British Airways flight had to make an emergency landing due to a smoke warning in the cabin.

According to media reports, an Airbus 320 operated by British Airways and carrying 152 passengers made an emergency landing at Athens International Airport on Wednesday evening.

Local media said smoke had been detected in the cabin of Flight BA2673, which took off at Larnaca International Airport at 7:36pm.

The flight heading to Gatwick Airport made a diversion and landed safely into Athens after the captain requested an emergency landing as a precaution.

A technical inspection of the Airbus later revealed no smoke-related problems. It remained unclear whether actual smoke had been detected or the smoke warning indicator light had turned on due to a malfunction.

A BA spokesperson was quoted in the media apologising for the delays of their customers.

“We have provided them with accommodation following their diversion into Athens due to a minor technical issue,” the spokesperson said.