A passenger on a Bristol-bound flight, which was forced to make an emergency landing due to the smell of smoke, has revealed that he and his fellow passengers “thought that they were going to die.”
An easyJet flight from Paphos, Cyprus, to Bristol Airport on Saturday (June 14) had to make an unexpected stop in Izmir, Turkey, just an hour and 20 minutes into the scheduled journey.
Jamie Shorland, who had travelled to Cyprus with a friend to visit his grandfather, was on the return leg when the smoke alarms started sounding. However, the airline staff did not inform the passengers about what was happening.
The 21-year-old from Exeter explained that the flight, initially delayed by 30 minutes, took off at 10.30pm. It was when the plane was west of Turkey that he realised something was amiss. Jamie recounted: “The air cabin crew were told to put away the catering trolleys, whilst we were told no information at all, then we were told to brace for an emergency landing.”
He continued: “We were above the water so we thought we’d crash into the sea, there was pure panic and none of the crew were helpful.
“I thought to myself ‘this is how it ends’, people were screaming ‘we are going to die!’
“One father rushed up the plane to hug his kids and the airline staff told him to go back to his seat. He told them to ‘f**k off, if I am going to die I am going to be with my kids.'”
Jamie described to Bristol Live the moment the plane suddenly made a 180-degree turn towards Turkey, explaining it was ‘literally flying sideways,’ before it terrifyingly dropped 15,000 feet in altitude within two minutes.
“I saw cabin crew crying at the back of the plane thinking they were going to die, however the plane flew into Izmir and landed at the airport,” Jamie recounted.
Further detailing his ordeal, Jamie commented: “It was a traumatic experience, I genuinely thought I was going to die. I was trying to think happy thoughts of my family as we fell through the sky.”
He also depicted the chaos aboard by stating, “It was a load of mayhem, the plane had no lights and it was a scary time.”
Passengers made to wait half an hour as firefighters stormed plane
The passengers on the flight faced a tense half-hour wait after landing as firefighters rushed onto the aircraft.
After touching down without initial explanation, emergency services trailed the plane until it came to a halt, and firefighters swiftly boarded, according to Jamie.
Jamie explained that despite the cockpit being filled with smoke, passengers weren’t allowed off the aircraft while emergency crews investigated the cause.
Only 20 minutes post-landing, while still on board, were Jamie and his fellow travellers informed about the suspected cooling system fault.
EasyJet guaranteed accommodation for those affected, spreading them across three hotels, Jamie shared, adding he was told he could use the room until 6pm on Sunday, just ahead of the rescheduled flight around 10pm.
However, passengers were summarily instructed to vacate the hotel at noon, Jamie recounted, with the crowd left congregating at the airport until their flight, which was delayed three times until eventually they could board at 11pm.
Expressing his concerns, Jamie remarked: “I did not want to leave Izmir, I thought ‘I might not make it’.”
Airline criticised over lack of response
The traveller slammed easyJet for their inaction during the distressing ordeal, denouncing the airline’s communication efforts as woefully inadequate.
In a stinging criticism, Jamie said: “They’ve been no help at all, the pilot [of the initial flight] even made a joke after landing telling everyone to buy a lottery ticket because ‘we got lucky’, I couldn’t believe it.”
The much-delayed return voyage from Turkey eventually touched down at Bristol Airport around half-past midnight on Monday, with Jamie finally arriving at Exeter shortly before 3am.
Jamie reflected on the harrowing journey: “It was my friend’s first time flying in 12 years. We will never get on a plane again, I’ve never been so scared of flying, it was the worst experience of my life.”
EasyJet issued a statement after the incident on Saturday, June 15, clarifying: “We can confirm that flight EZY2902 from Paphos to Bristol diverted to Izmir due to a technical issue which resulted in a smoke smell onboard.
“The aircraft landed safely in Izmir and was met by emergency services as a routine and precautionary measure only.”
The airline assured that passengers were disembarked according to standard procedures into the terminal and received accommodations with meals as necessary.
“Passengers will continue to Bristol on a replacement aircraft later today. The safety of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines.
“We would like to thank customers for their understanding and apologise for the inconvenience caused.”