Cathay Pacific flight heading to Penang forced to return to Hong Kong over unusual smell in plane cabin
- Flight CX633 was scheduled to arrive in Penang at 12.05pm, but returned to Hong Kong at 8.53am with no injuries reported, airline says
- In October last year, a Cathay flight bound for Spain and another heading to Japan were forced to return to city
Flight CX633 was scheduled to depart the city on Sunday at 8.15am and arrive in Penang at 12.05pm.
“[The flight] made a precautionary return to Hong Kong in accordance with standard procedure after receiving a report of an unusual smell in the cabin after takeoff,” Hong Kong’s flag carrier said.
The Airbus A330 plane returned to Hong Kong International Airport at 8.53am and no passengers or crew members were injured, according to the airline.
Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said it received a report from the plane about 10 minutes before it rerouted to return to the city.
Operations at the airport were unaffected, the authority said.
Cathay Pacific said passengers on the flight were offered access to a lounge at the airport and given meal coupons, adding the group would be flown out on another plane at 12.30pm.
It said a full inspection of the aircraft would be conducted soon.
Hong Kong’s Cathay group carries over 20 million passengers in 2023
Cathay said the replacement flight departed at 1.26pm from Hong Kong. A check of the carrier’s website showed it arrived in Penang at 4.52pm.
In October last year, a Cathay flight en route to Madrid, Spain, was called back to Hong Kong over a “system anomaly” related to the aircraft.
In another incident during the same month, a Japan-bound flight with more than 290 passengers returned to the city after a cargo door on the aircraft was “found unlocked”.
