A flight from Bologna to Brussels made an unexpected pit-stop in the Grand Duchy on Friday, as passengers disembarked the plane to allow for an inspection after pilots reported detecting 'a plastic odour' in the cockpit.

The Ryanair flight FR3938 took off on Friday at 10am from Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport, scheduled to land at Brussels Charleroi Airport approximately at 11:45am. Things took a turn when the flight made an emergency landing in Luxembourg instead.

Luxairport CEO Alexander Flassak confirmed that the emergency landing was made for 'precautionary reasons' and not due to an emergency. Therefore, no intervention by emergency services was necessary. The Boeing 737-800 airliner was carrying 168 passengers and landed at Findel Airport at 11:30am.

The pilot made the call after not being able to locate the origin of 'a plastic odour' in the cockpit. According to RTL sources, smoke was also observed inside the aircraft — prompting pilots to divert their course and land at the nearest airport: Findel.

The good news was that the flight was able to land at Findel without any difficulties. As the inspection was expected to take some time, passengers were offered a bus to transport them to their original destination. The aircraft was able to take off once again in the late afternoon after passing inspection.

The incident was confirmed by a source who insisted that the landing took place due to precaution rather than any emergency and  did not require any intervention by firefighters, which RTL confirmed on Friday evening.