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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Sean Morrison

London-bound British Airways flight forced to land in Athens over smoke warning

British Airways pilots are planning to go ahead with strike action during the busy summer holiday travel period. (Picture: Getty)

A British Airways flight to London from Cyprus has been forced to make an emergency landing over a smoke warning.

The jet, carrying 158 people, made the unscheduled stop at Athens International airport on Wednesday.

The Airbus 320 took off from the city of Larnaca before the pilot reported that a smoke warning indicator had turned on.

All 152 passengers and six crew members on the plane, which had been heading to Gatwick Airport, exited safely after landing.

A check of the plane in Athens did not reveal any problems.

A British Airways spokeswoman said: "We're very sorry for the delay to our customers' journeys.

“We have provided them with accommodation following their diversion into Athens due to a minor technical issue.

"The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so."

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