Swiss flight makes emergency landing with 238 people aboard due to chemical odour

A Swiss International Air Lines flight travelling from Chicago to Zurich was forced to make an emergency landing in the Azores after a chemical odour was detected onboard.

The Boeing 777 was carrying 222 passengers and 16 crew members when the incident occurred over the Atlantic, Swiss chief operating officer Oliver Buchhofer told reporters in Zurich on Tuesday.

The flight crew issued a distress call before diverting the aircraft to the Portuguese archipelago.

The airline has not provided further details about the chemical odour or what may have caused it. There were no immediate reports of injuries and is now working to return the affected passengers to Switzerland.

Buchhofer said Swiss planned to send another of its aircraft to the Azores on Tuesday afternoon to collect the passengers.

“Hopefully, we’ll be back with our guests this evening,” Buchhofer said.

It was not immediately clear when the Boeing 777 involved in the emergency would return to service or whether the aircraft would remain in the Azores for further inspections.