A Virgin Australia flight was forced to make an emergency landing after passengers reported an 'electrical burning smell'

Virgin Australia

• A Virgin Australia plane had to make an emergency landing after passengers reported a "burning smell," coming from the plane, according to multiple reports.
• Virgin Australia Flight 465 took off from Perth International Airport at 7:03 a.m. on Thursday, October 18, with an intended destination of Brisbane Airport.
• Approximately three hours into the flight the captain notified the rest of the plane of "an electrical issue," and announced the plane would need to be diverted to Adelaide Airport.
• "The aircraft was met on arrival by emergency services as a precaution and all passengers and crew safely disembarked the aircraft," a Virgin Australia spokesperson told WA Today.

A Virgin Australia plane had to make an emergency landing after passengers reported a "burning smell," coming from the plane, according to multiple reports.

According to data from Flight Aware, Virgin Australia Flight 465 took off from Perth International Airport at 7:03 a.m. on Thursday, October 18, with an intended destination of Brisbane Airport. Perth and Brisbane are two cities located on opposite coasts of Australia.

The Daily Mirror reports that shortly after takeoff, passengers reported "a distinct electrical burning smell" to the flight crew, with one passenger noting the flight crew seemed "anxious."

According to The Daily Mirror, approximately three hours into the flight the captain notified the rest of the plane of "an electrical issue," and announced the plane would need to be diverted to Adelaide Airport, off the southwest coast of Australia, where it would land prematurely.

Brian Pacus/Business Insider via FlightAware

A screenshot of the path taken by VA Flight 465 on Thursday, October 18.

Virgin Australia did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

"In accordance with standard operating procedures, the captain made the decision to divert to Adelaide Airport as a precautionary measure after an odor was detected in the cabin," a Virgin Australia spokesperson told WA Today, a newspaper covering Western Australia.

"The aircraft was met on arrival by emergency services as a precaution and all passengers and crew safely disembarked the aircraft," the statement added.

This is not the first time in 2018 that a strange smell has forced a plane to divert from its original course. In July, a Spirit Airlines plane flying from New York to Florida had to be diverted after passengers aboard complained of burning throats and chest pains caused by an odor that resembled, "dirty socks."

In May, a similar incident of crew members reporting an "electrical smell" forced an Allegiant Air flight to make an emergency landing in North Carolina.