Flight carrying hungover England fans from Euros makes emergency landing after 'undefined smell' wafts through cabin

15 July 2024, 12:38 | Updated: 15 July 2024, 12:46

A flight ferrying hungover England fans back from the Euro 2024 final in Germany has been forced to make an emergency landing after an "undefined" smell filled the cabin.

Passengers aboard flight EW8470 to Manchester were left stranded in Berlin after a strong smell began to waft through the plane's cabin just minutes after takeoff.

The German flight took off from Berlin Brandenburg Airport at 8.09am on Monday.

However, it was quickly forced to u-turn, touching back down in Berlin 17 minutes later.

Upon arrival, the plane was met on the runway by the airport fire service, with hungover passengers taken off the Airbus A319 as the source of the smell was investigated.

Taking to social media, frustrated passenger @mrgarethrdavies recounted the reaction of cabin crew aboard the flight, writing: "Flight attendant in EW8470: please don't take photos, we don't want bad press on social media. Well will you kindly provide someone to speak to about what we do next??? RIDICULOUS"

The incident followed England's 2-1 defeat to Spain in Sunday night's Euro 2024 finals, with forlorn fans returning from the tournament left stranded at the airport.

The Eurowings flight was left sitting on the runway as an investigation got underway, as passengers watched on from busses transporting them back to the terminal.

Read more: England 1-2 Spain: Heartbreak for England as Spain win Euros 2024

Read more: England's heartbreak as last-gasp Spanish goal seals historic Euro 2024 final defeat

Taking to X formerly known as Twitter, one user known only as J wrote: "There was no @eurowings rep to meet us from the plane. You literally just bunged us all back in to the airport with no communication whatsoever. #eurowings"

Another user, @SJames, clarified the situation, tagging the low cost airline in his frustrated social media post.

"Flight EW8470 - set off, smoke on board, returned to Berlin. No staff have advised what happens next, we have just been ejected into baggage collection so please explain: A) which belt will have baggage (isn’t on screens) and B) how I get a new flight to Manchester."

Venting their frustration, J continued: "The only communication was from the air hostess to tell us not to film as they ‘don’t want to be on TikTok’. That’s the last we heard from @eurowings..."

In response, Eurowings commented on X: "Flight EW8470 made an unscheduled return to Berlin this morning due to an undefined smell in the cabin. The aircraft was subsequently inspected without any findings.

"As a result, the flight will be delayed and all passengers have already been informed by SMS."

It comes as the Three Lions once again missed out on victory at the final hurdle on Sunday after a goal just four minutes from the final whistle secured victory for Spain.

Following the heartbreaking defeat, Prince William, who attended the final in Berlin, took to X to say that a win “just wasn’t meant to be,” adding that fans are still "so proud" of the team.