BRUSSELS — A Boeing 737 from the airline TIU Belgium made an emergency landing at Zaventem in Brussels on Wednesday, airport operator BIAC said.

The plane had taken off on Wednesday morning from Oostende with 168 passengers and several crew members on board.

Pilots then noticed smoke in the cockpit and decided against trying to fly the plane to its final destination, newspaper ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’ reported.

“We don’t know what the final destination was, but it was probably a Southern European destination,” a BIAC spokesman said. “Most of the charter flights that depart from Oostende head for the sun.”

He also said emergency landings such as Wednesday’s occur frequently: “Not daily, but several times per year”.

It is not yet certain what arrangements will be made for the passengers. The mechanical problems must be first identified before any such decision can be made.

“If it is a serious technical problem, then another plane can be quickly brought in. Given the fact it is a Belgian airline, that is no problem,” the spokesman said.

It was expected that the passengers would depart for their end destination later on Wednesday.

[Copyright Expatica News 2006]

Subject: Belgian news