An easyJet flight from Gatwick to Paphos was forced to divert to Germany after cabin crew detected a smell of smoke in the flight deck.
The aircraft with 175 passengers and crew on board landed in Cologne as a ‘precautionary measure’ and were transferred onto a replacement service to finish the journey.
The incident took place on Saturday afternoon and the flight made a rapid descent from around 33,000 feet within 15 minutes.
An spokeswoman for the airline told the Mirror: “EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY5455 from London Gatwick to Paphos on 11 April 2015 diverted to Cologne airport due to a technical issue which resulted in a smoke smell in the flight deck.
“The aircraft landed safely and was met by emergency services as a routine and precautionary measure only.
“Once at its stand all passengers disembarked normally.
“The safety of its passengers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines.
“The passengers have continued their journey to Paphos on a replacement aircraft which left Cologne the same evening at 23.30 local time.
“EasyJet would like to thank passengers for their patience and apologise for the inconvenience caused by the delay.”