ABU DHABI // Flights were delayed at Abu Dhabi International Airport yesterday after reports of smoke on board an Etihad Airways flight. A passenger on the 9.50am Etihad flight from Abu Dhabi to Doha alerted cabin crew to a burning smell, and take-off was abandoned. The plane was on one of the slipways approaching the runway when the report was made. While nothing was found, the incident led to delays to other services, with one plane due to arrive in Abu Dhabi instead diverted to Al Ain, before returning to the capital later in the day.
An Etihad Airways spokesman said the passenger reported the smell of smoke near the galley area where the crew prepare food. "As a precaution, the aircraft did not take off and the emergency services attended. "The 69 passengers were taken off and the emergency services did not find anything." The flight was cancelled and passengers transferred to an alternative Doha flight. A spokesman for Abu Dhabi Airports Company said the incident had created a "knock-on effect" resulting in some minor delays, before the airport resumed normal operations 55 minutes later.
There were no take-offs or landings between 10.20am and 11.15am, he said. * The National