Smoke Emerges on St. Petersburg-Dubai Flight; Passengers Evacuated

Smoke emerged in an aircraft of a foreign airline at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, Russia, but there were no injuries reported, said the North-Western Transport Prosecutor's Office.

“The cause of the emergency was smoke from the engine without ignition,” the source stated.

The press service of Air Gates in the northern capital informed TASS that the aircraft preparing for the St. Petersburg-Dubai flight was pulled back to the parking lot of Pulkovo Airport.

“For technical reasons, the St. Petersburg-Dubai flight EK 176 was pulled back to the parking lot. Emergency and ambulance teams were called in accordance with the instructions, and there is no threat to the life and health of passengers,” the press service reported. They also noted that there were no signs of fire on the aircraft, and the passengers were regularly evacuated, with emergency service rescue teams on the scene.

The press service added that there were 240 passengers on board, all of whom were safely evacuated. In addition to the 240 passengers, 15 crew members were also evacuated.

The airport's press service further mentioned that a decision is currently being made regarding whether to accommodate passengers in a hotel or send them on the next flight. It was noted that both the airport and the airline are taking all necessary measures to reduce delay times.