Smoke from a battery fire led a Florida-bound Delta Air Lines flight to land in Fort Myers on Monday rather than its original destination on the opposite coast.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1334 was on its way to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Monday morning but landed at Southwest Florida International Airport after members of its crew “reported smoke in the cabin,” according to the FAA.
It made a safe arrival at the Fort Myers-area airport around 8:35 a.m. local time.
The smoke was believed to have come from a “burning personal battery” that flight attendants had to extinguish during the flight, according to Delta Air Lines.
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“Flight attendants worked quickly to extinguish a probable burning personal battery belonging to a customer while pilots followed procedures to safely divert the flight,” the airline said in a statement to FOX Business. “We appreciate the quick work and actions by our people to follow their training, and we apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels.”
Delta said the crew declared an emergency as a precaution.
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Flight 1334, crewed by six, had been transporting 185 travelers, according to the airline.
The flight originated from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, is the main hub for Delta and serves as the headquarters for the airline.
Travelers on Flight 1334 ultimately reached Fort Lauderdale after roughly five-and-half hours, using the same plane, according to the airline.
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Fort Myers is located on the Gulf Coast of Florida, while Fort Lauderdale sits on the Atlantic Ocean.
Delta flew over 200 million passengers over the course of last year.
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