Delta Flight Diverts to Porto After Smoke Fills Cabin

A Delta Air Lines flight headed for Boston diverted to Porto, Portugal, on Sunday after smoke spread through the cabin over the Atlantic. Eleven passengers felt ill. Medical responders treated eight people at the airport, while three went to a local hospital.

Flight DL-251 left Barcelona on September 27 at about 3:40 p.m. The Airbus A330-300 reached roughly 32,000 feet before its pilots reversed course a little more than two hours into the trip. The aircraft remained in Porto afterward, and officials had not identified the source of the smoke.

The diversion follows two other recent reports involving unusual fumes. Passengers on a Delta service from Maui to Seattle were hospitalized, while seven Hawaiian Airlines crew members became sick after an odor affected a flight from Los Angeles. Each aircraft was built by Airbus. The incidents have renewed attention on aircraft air systems and lawsuits alleging that engine-oil contamination can produce fumes or smoke. The report says such events commonly cause temporary symptoms, though campaigners say some people experience longer-lasting health problems.