Air Belgium: Flight from Brussels Airport to America forced to turn back after declaring mid-air emergency due to 'malfunction of ventilation system'

An Air Belgium flight from Brussels to Cincinnati in America was forced to turn back due to a “possible malfunction of the ventilation system”. According to Flight Emergency on X, formerly Twitter, the flight was on its way to Cincinnati when the aircraft raised the emergency 7700 squawking code.

It said on X at around 10pm: “Air Belgium flight KF278. BRU- CVG. Squawking 7700 (emergency).” The flight was around an hour and a half into its journey, with still seven hours to go until it reached its destination, and it was forced to return back to Brussels Airport. 

According to the airline the aircraft landed safely “without any issues”. Once landed the aircraft was met by the maintenance team.

A spokesperson for Air Belgium told NationalWorld: “While en route to the United States, the crew observed an ECAM (Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor) indication pointing to a possible malfunction of the ventilation system. In accordance with the prescribed Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) procedures for this freighter aircraft, the crew had to descend to a lower altitude and diverting to a diversion airfield, in this instance, the crew returned to the home base for maintenance and troubleshooting. 

“At no point was the aircraft's operational integrity compromised or in a critical condition. The aircraft safely landed at Brussels Airport without any issues, where it was promptly attended to by the maintenance team.”