10 Passengers Faint Onboard Air Europa Flight After “Strong Smell of Gas” Floods Cabin

Several passengers complained of feeling ill after the odor of gas allegedly overwhelmed an Air Europa charter flight.

Passengers onboard a recent Air Europa flight bound for Israel claim they were overwhelmed by the smell of aircraft fuel in the cabin and that the odor caused several of them to pass out. Daily Mail reports Air Europa Flight 433 was marred by the incident while en route from Barcelona to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport (TLV).

According to passengers onboard, they first smelled the fumes when the pilot turned on the engines. One passenger claims that she complained to a crew member about the smell and was reassured that it would pass.

One hour into the flight, passengers claim that the continued smell of fuel overwhelmed a number of passengers and as many as 10 flyers passed out as a result. Those aboard the Boeing 737 claim flight attendants began asking for doctors to help the affected passengers.

One woman aboard the flight claimed she passed out to Israeli news website Ynet.com, but came to after water was splashed on her. “Stewards were under pressure … and [would] not even let us go to the bathroom.”

Despite the alleged situation, the flight was not diverted nor was an medical emergency declared. Instead, the flight continued to its final destination without incident at TLV. Officials with the Israeli Ministry of Transport told Daily Mail that Spanish authorities were investigating the claims.

An Air Europa representative acknowledged the episode to Daily Mail, but was quick to dispel the claims made by the passengers, stating: “The smell of kerosene that some people perceived during flight is normal when the engines are started with headwind, but after short period of time that smell is always removed by the air conditioning system.”

[Photo: Air Europa Facebook]