KLM: Smell caused by 100 pigs forces plane to land

A nasty stench caused by 100 pigs forced a passenger plane en route to Mexico to make an unexpected landing in Bermuda.

On Friday at 3pm local time, KLM Flight KL685 departed Amsterdam and headed for Mexico City, carrying about 250 passengers onboard. But halfway into the 12-hour flight, the pilot made a bizarre request, the Daily Mail reported.

Speaking to Air Traffic Control, the pilot said the Boeing 787-9 needed to stop somewhere for fresh air, citing “obnoxious cargo coming from pigs”.

ATC asked the pilot to confirm there were live pigs in the plane’s cargo hold, to which the pilot replied: “Yeah, and those are probably the starter of the inconvenience so they have to be offloaded, but we’ll see about that later on”.

The flight landed at Bermuda’s LF Wade International Airport just after 9pm, according to data from online flight tracking website Flightradar24.

The Daily Mail reported that all passengers on board were provided accommodation for the night, yet it was more than 24 hours later that they finally set off again for Mexico City.

According to Bermuda Flyer, an aviation site, 100 pigs were offloaded and moved to a “safe location”.

In a written statement, the Bermuda Government said that the flight diverted to the archipelago after “noxious gases allegedly affected the flight crew”.

“Subsequently, the pigs’ crates were offloaded and remained in Bermuda while the flight continued its journey.”

On the welfare of the animals, the Government said that it is a “priority”, adding that officials “have been attending to the pigs, ensuring they are well cared for while further arrangements are made”.

“Ongoing discussions with KLM Cargo aim to secure a relief flight to transport the pigs to their final destination in Mexico. However, if delays persist, the pigs will need to be released from their crates to ensure their wellbeing.

“This step would necessitate new animal testing and certification for compliance with international transportation regulations, potentially adding further complexity to their journey.

“In anticipation of this possibility, contingency plans are under way to relocate the pigs temporarily. The DENR is co-ordinating with relevant government departments and local farmers to assist in housing the animals,” the statement read.

Instagram user Yesika Yaranza (@yexyaranza) claimed to have been a passenger on the flight. When asked on a post about the ordeal on Bermuda Flyer’s account, she claimed to have experienced headaches from the oxygen issues.

A plane flying from Amsterdam to Mexico City made an emergency landing in Bermuda, but not because of a technical malfunction – the cause was the stench from hundreds of pigs.

The pigs, according to media reports, were being transported in the cargo hold. It is reported that the… pic.twitter.com/CGepm4eGmE

— InnA (@Inna_Inna_Iv) December 16, 2024

When asked if she could smell the animals, she wrote: “Yes, in fact, when the plane stopped in Bermuda, the entire plane began to smell like pork”.

It remains unclear why KLM was transporting the pigs to Mexico. The Dutch airline has not responded to the Herald’s request for information.

In New Zealand, livestock cannot be exported overseas by sea, nor can they be exported for slaughter. In most instances, local livestock are exported for trade purposes, such as dairy heifers to China.

A KLM service from Amsterdam to Mexico has made headlines in the past.

In 2019, passengers on KLM’s Mexico City flight were confused and disgruntled following an 11-hour flight to nowhere when a volcano erupted.