While you may expect engine issues on the ground or bad weather to be the reason why your flight is delayed, cancelled or re-routed, you don’t expect it to be because of an unpleasant smell. However, that's exactly what happened on a SWISS flight between Manchester in the UK and Zurich, when the pilots were forced to land the plane in Frankfurt because of a foul odour.

SWISS flight lands in Frankfurt because of bad smell

Last Friday, according to 20 minuten, a SWISS flight from Manchester to Zurich Airport took off without incident. However, when the plane was making its way to Switzerland, the pilots started to detect a very unpleasant smell coming from somewhere in the cockpit - although SWISS has not confirmed the nature of the smell itself.

For safety reasons, the pilots broadcast the code 7700, used to indicate an emergency. The plane was swiftly rerouted and landed in Frankfurt in Germany. According to a statement from SWISS, the plane landed safely in the German airport, and the 113 passengers and five crew members were never in any danger.

Passengers rerouted to Switzerland on the train

All passengers and crew members were booked on connections with Swiss public transport back to Zurich. So far, SWISS has declined to say why the cockpit smelt so badly.

However, this isn’t the first time a SWISS flight has been affected by a foul smell in the cockpit. According to Air Live, a SWISS flight from London to Zurich on November 7, 2021, was forced to return to Heathrow 30 minutes after takeoff “due to [a] dirty socks smell in the cockpit."