This is what it smells like when pigs fly

Passengers on board a KLM flight from the Netherlands to Mexico City had an unpleasant experience this week when the plane had to be diverted due to the stench caused by pigs being transported in the cargo hold.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying from Amsterdam was forced to divert to Bermuda after 100 live pigs created such a stench that it affected the “oxygen environment” in the cockpit.

The pilots of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight KL685 were forced to contact air traffic control around six hours into the transatlantic flight with an unusual request to make an unscheduled stop in Bermuda due to what the Captain described as “obnoxious cargo.”

Passengers onboard the 12-hour flight were apparently unable to cope with the porcine farts.

The flight had 259 passengers and crew onboard with 100 live pigs stashed in the hold.

A spokesperson for Skyport, the firm that runs Bermuda’s LF Wade International Airport, told media the diversion was caused by “the distinctive aroma of 100 pigs travelling in the cargo hold.”

A KLM spokesperson said the flight was diverted as "a standard precaution".

Once the plane landed on the island, passengers and crew were processed through immigration and sent to local hotels, where they stayed for 26 hours as a result of the diversion.

In the meantime, the pigs were transferred to a holding area and the plane was cleaned.

A government inspected the animals and the piggy cargo was cleared to fly once again.

The flight reportedly landed in Mexico City a full 26 hours behind schedule.

Stench in plane cabin forces turnaround

An Air India Express flight between Kochi and the Middle East had to return to its base because passengers could not stand the stench in the cabin.

The airline said a consignment of onions was possibly to blame for the stink.

The flight returned to Kochi after "pungent" and "burning" smells were noticed in the cabin, although the pilots did not receive a malfunction alert.

Several passengers said the smell was unbearable.

The airline confirmed onions and other vegetables were being transported in the hold and may have been the source of the odour.

It apologised to customers and re-booked them on a later flight to Sharjah.

There were 175 passengers on board the flight.

Politician Mathew Kuzhalnadan, a member of the Indian National Congress who was travelling in the aircraft, said there was uncertainty and confusion among the passengers, the Press Trust of India reported.

“To be honest, I fell asleep as soon as I boarded," he said. 

"However, when I woke up with the announcement, there was an uncertainty and confusion among the people.

"When the captain announced we are landing back then, everyone got concerned and slightly nervous. However, it didn’t get worse as we landed back soon.”

Air India Express carries vegetables, fruits, and flowers in large quantities in its cargo hold area, as well as carrying passengers.