A FLIGHT packed with heartbroken England fans was forced to make an emergency landing due to an “undefined smell in the cabin”.
Just minutes after taking off from Berlin this morning, the flight headed for Manchester was forced to return to the German airport.
Flight radars showed that the Eurowings EW8470 took off at 8.09am and climbed to 10,000 feet before turning around and landing back at Berlin at 8.26am.
The aircraft was met by the airport fire service upon landing.
The flight was carrying several distraught England fans after their 2-1 Euros loss to champions Spain on Sunday night.
Supporter Gareth Davies from Wigan, told The Independent: “A few minutes into the flight the captain came on and said we had to go back to Berlin due to a warning light flashing on the controls.
“Upon landing we sat there for a short period and :a smell of burning entered the cabin.
“We were told not to worry about the fire engines, take our luggage and not to take photos or videos ‘because we don’t want to be on TikTok’.
“We disembarked and gathered on the Tarmac surrounded by firefighters before buses took us to the terminal. Upon arrival at the terminal there was no one there except passport control. We hadn’t been told what would happen next so we all went through passport control.
“People had no clue about their checked bags and many exited the baggage hall – I only had carry on.”
A Lufthansa subsidiary, Eurowings has its headquarters based in Dusseldorf.
Operating a network of mostly domestic flights to and from Berlin, the airline had scheduled a number of additional flights from London and Manchester to Berlin to meet demand from England fans.
Eurowings said in a statement: “Flight EW8470 from Berlin to Manchester made an unscheduled return to Berlin this morning due to an undefined odour in the cabin.
“An ‘air emergency’ was declared, a standard procedure to obtain a prioritised landing. The aircraft landed normally at BER at around 8.30 am.
“Passengers and crew left the aircraft via passenger stairs provided and were taken to the terminal by bus.
“The aircraft was then inspected by the fire brigade. There were no findings. There was neither a fire nor smoke in the cabin.
“There were 150 passengers on board the Airbus A319. There was no danger to passengers or crew at any time.
“Safety is always the top priority at Eurowings. The passengers affected will be rebooked on alternative flights.”
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