Plane makes emergency landing due to durian smell.

While the plane was at an altitude of over 2,100 meters, the cabin was filled with an unpleasant fruity smell. The crew tried everything to reduce the odor but failed. Therefore, the pilot was forced to declare a Pan Pan – a Level 2 emergency (a serious but not life-threatening situation). In fact, no one on board was injured as a result of this situation.

The Canadian Transportation Safety Board said the foul odor originated from a shipment of durians. Many unfamiliar with the smell described it as resembling rotten onions, turpentine, and even urine. After landing, the fruit was removed from the plane.

This isn't the first time the smell of durian has caused trouble. In 2018, passengers on a flight in Bengkulu, Indonesia, asked the crew to leave the durian behind before departure because the plane was carrying about 2 tons of the fruit.

Passengers were unhappy with the crew's explanation that the foul smell would dissipate after takeoff. One man began chanting in protest, and other passengers also said they didn't want to fly. According to the BBC, several passengers were very angry and nearly came to blows with the crew. Eventually, the airline agreed to leave the durian shipment behind.

Also earlier this year, a library in Australia had to be evacuated due to a suspected gas leak. Around 500 students and faculty were evacuated from the RMIT University campus on Latcoat Road, Melbourne. After a thorough search, firefighters determined the strange smell was not from chemical gases, but from a cabinet containing rotting durian fruit.

Durian is a popular fruit in Southeast Asia and is world-renowned for its extremely unpleasant smell. It is banned in public places and hotels in some Asian countries.

Hannah Nguyen