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Frontier flight from Norfolk to Orlando makes emergency landing at RDU

A Frontier Airlines flight from Norfolk, Virginia, to Orlando made an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport Saturday evening after passengers and crew noticed fumes or an odor in the cabin, the airport said.

All 102 passengers and crew were evacuated safely, but one passenger was taken to WakeMed, RDU said in a statement. The passenger’s condition was not reported.

Frontier Flight 1159 contacted RDU and requested the emergency landing about 5:45 p.m., the airport said.

When the plane landed, RDU Fire Rescue responded along with units from Wake EMS, Raleigh Fire, Wake County Fire Service and Wake County HazMat.

The passengers and crew were evacuated from the plane onto the airfield.

The airport remained open during the incident, but the Terminal 2 ramp was closed until about 7:20 p.m.

The airport said about 16 arriving flights were delayed for at least an hour due to the Terminal 2 ramp closure.

Jennifer F. de la Cruz, a spokesperson for Frontier Airlines, said the plane was en route to Orlando from Norfolk when it “experienced a fume/odor event.”

“Out of an abundance of caution, the aircraft diverted to Raleigh-Durham and both passengers and crew exited the aircraft via evacuation slides,” de la Cruz said in a statement. “No injuries to passengers or crew have been reported.”

There was no indication of a fire onboard the plane, de la Cruz added.

She said that all passengers had been safely moved to the airport terminal and that Frontier was making arrangements to get them to their final destinations.

A video posted on Twitter showed emergency responders surrounding a Frontier Airlines airplane on the tarmac.

Planes backed up waiting to get to gates at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Oct. 23, 2021. Neither plane pictured here was involved in the incident at RDU.
Planes backed up waiting to get to gates at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Oct. 23, 2021. Neither plane pictured here was involved in the incident at RDU.