Eurowings Emergency Landing in Dusseldorf

A Eurowings flight bound for southern Italy performed an emergency landing in Dusseldorf on Tuesday 22 September 2026 after smoke was observed in the cabin shortly after takeoff.

The Airbus A320 returned to the ground just seven minutes after departing, and all passengers left the aircraft safely on the runway.

Smoke Reported Shortly After Departure From Dusseldorf

Eurowings flight EW9854 was operating a scheduled service from Dusseldorf Airport (DUS) to Brindisi (BDS) in the Puglia region of Italy.

The aircraft was scheduled to depart at 14:45 UTC and pushed back slightly late, taking off from runway 05R at 14:53 UTC (16:53 local time).

Shortly after the aircraft left the runway, smoke was observed in the passenger cabin.

The flight crew elected to return to the departure airport immediately rather than continue the climb towards the Alps and on to southern Italy.

Safe Landing on Runway 23L at Dusseldorf

The crew flew a short circuit at Dusseldorf and brought the A320 back onto runway 23L at Dusseldorf, touching down just seven minutes after takeoff.

Landing in the opposite direction to the departure runway allowed the crew to minimise the time spent airborne with smoke present in the cabin.

The aircraft came to a stop on the runway rather than taxiing to the terminal. Passengers disembarked on the runway using mobile airstairs and were then transported back to the terminal.

There have been no reports of injuries among passengers or crew.

The runway closure is likely to have caused a short period of disruption to arrivals and departures at Dusseldorf while the aircraft was inspected and moved clear.

The Aircraft Involved in Dusseldorf Incident

The aircraft operating EW9854 from Dusseldorf was an Airbus A320-214 registered 9H-EUX, flown by Eurowings Europe on its Maltese air operator certificate.

The jet carries manufacturer serial number 4631 and is configured with 174 seats.

The airframe completed its first flight in early March 2011 and was delivered on 14 March 2011 to the Air Berlin group, originally registered in Switzerland as HB-JOZ.

It moved onto the German register as D-ABFR in February 2017 and joined Eurowings the following month as the Lufthansa Group absorbed capacity from the collapsing Air Berlin.

The aircraft transferred to Eurowings Europe in February 2018 and spent a brief period with Austrian Airlines in early 2020.

It was reregistered in Malta as 9H-EUX in November 2022 and is now around 15 years old.

Investigation Into the Cause

Eurowings has not yet confirmed the source of the smoke in Dusseldorf.

Cabin smoke events can stem from a range of causes, including electrical faults, air conditioning pack issues, oil contamination in the bleed air system or overheating galley equipment.

Lithium batteries in passenger electronic devices have also become an increasingly common trigger for smoke events across European carriers.

The aircraft will now undergo a full engineering inspection in Dusseldorf before it is cleared to return to service.

German accident investigators at the BFU may also review the event depending on its classification.

Passengers Rebooked

Passengers travelling to Brindisi faced a significant delay as Eurowings arranged onward travel.

The quick decision by the crew to return to Dusseldorf reflects standard procedure for smoke in the cabin, where getting the aircraft on the ground as quickly as possible is the overriding priority.

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