4 taken to hospital after Boston-bound Delta flight makes abrupt U-turn over Atlantic Ocean and lands in Portugal

A Delta Air Lines flight with nearly 300 passengers from Barcelona to Boston made an emergency landing in Northern Portugal’s Porto on Saturday afternoon, September 26, after smoke was detected in the cabin. As per portugalresident fourteen people were treated for “smoke inhalation,” with four reportedly taken to nearby hospitals for further treatment.

The remaining 282 passengers were safely evacuated. UK-based The Sun reported, citing Portuguese sources, that 12 passengers on board were supplied with oxygen masks during the flight.

The Delta flight number DL251 took off from Barcelona at approximately 3:15 pm and was midway in the Atlantic Ocean when the crew detected smoke on board. According to Flightradar24 flight tracking data, the plane arrived at Porto airport at about 5:45 pm.


According to AirLive, the Delta flight involved is an 11-year-old Airbus A330-300. According to it, the plane ascended to 33,000 feet above the Spanish mainland and then cruised at 32,000 feet.

The crew members declared an emergency and diverted their flight to the closest appropriate airport after around two hours into the flight. “Squawk 7700” was sent from the aircraft, which is an universal emergency code to declare an in-flight emergency.


Then due to the smoke inside, they had to divert to Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport, Porto.

The aircraft made a safe landing on runway 35, where emergency services were awaiting their arrival at the airport. According to Portugal Resident, a level 2 alert was triggered and about 60 emergency personnel were mobilized at the site.