Zurich Airport: Swiss-Airbus from Bucharest lands in Graz, passengers evacuated

The plane of the Swiss flight LX1885 from Bucharest to Zurich had to land in Graz on Monday evening. Like the online portal 20min.ch first reported, smoke development in the cabin was the cause of the unscheduled landing.

The Airbus A220 took off from Bucharest at 4:27 p.m. almost an hour late. After a good hour of flight, the cockpit crew initiated the descent. The aircraft was at an altitude of around 12,200 meters at the time, according to data from the live tracking service Flightradar24.com show. The descent was therefore quite steep, at up to 26 meters per second. Usually it is around 9 meters per second. The descent took less than 20 minutes. The machine came to a standstill around 1,300 meters after the start of the runway.

The landing at the airport in Graz took place at 6:15 p.m. The passengers were evacuated.

Swiss wrote on X: “We are aware of an incident on flight LX1885 from Bucharest to Zurich. The cockpit crew decided to make an unscheduled landing in Graz. The passengers have been evacuated and the plane is currently on the runway. More information to follow.”

Shortly after 9 p.m., the Swiss media office provided information about the situation. There was an incident on flight LX1885, it says in the introduction. On the one hand, there were engine problems, and on the other hand, smoke spread through the cabin and cockpit. So the cockpit crew decided to make an emergency landing in Graz and evacuate the aircraft.

In 20min.ch a passenger says that no oxygen masks have come down. Swiss spokesman Michael Stief confirms this. If smoke develops, the masks will not be triggered because the oxygen could further fan a fire. The passengers were asked to take the emergency landing position. Due to the lack of masks, they protected themselves as best as possible with cloth so as not to inhale too much smoke.

A member of the cabin team had to take the helicopter to the hospital

There were 74 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane landed safely. “The passengers are looked after and cared for by the crisis intervention team at Graz Airport,” writes Swiss. At 9 p.m. it was confirmed that 10 passengers had sought medical care. The number was corrected to 12 in a further announcement shortly before midnight. Apparently one member of the cabin crew was hit particularly hard: “We are following with concern the condition of a cabin crew member who was taken to the hospital in Graz by helicopter; his condition is currently unclear.” The other four crew members also received medical care.

Swiss is working intensively to provide both passengers and crew members with the best possible care and support. “That’s why Swiss has planned two special flights.” The first started at six minutes before midnight in Zurich. On board was a delegation consisting of a care team for passengers and crew, technicians and a support team for the local authorities. Another Airbus A220 was used.

Two special flights planned

The second special flight will fly from Graz to Zurich on Tuesday, December 24th with flight number LX7385 and will bring all passengers who wish to do so to Zurich. The flight will take off from Graz at 9.45 a.m. and is expected to land in Zurich at 11 a.m. In the meantime, all passengers and crew are accommodated in hotels in Graz.

The subsequent words from the Swiss media office also show that this was a serious incident: “Our thoughts are with the passengers and our employees who had to experience this incident and especially with those who are still under medical care.”

They are in close contact with the local authorities and are working to clarify the cause of the landing and the next steps.

The plane sat on the runway for a while longer

The plane was still on the runway at 9 p.m. and Graz Airport was closed because of the incident. This is the machine with the registration HB-JCD. Only in a second message, sent around midnight, did it say that the machine had been removed from the runway.

On Flightradar24.com you could see how after the plane landed, a rescue helicopter flew to the spot where the plane was standing and then on to the LKH University Hospital Graz. Several fire brigade vehicles were in action.

Martin Liebrich is deputy editor-in-chief at “Zürcher Unterländer”.More info

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