A flight to Fort Lauderdale from Montreal with 189 people aboard was forced to make an emergency landing in Newark, N.J., Saturday morning after reports of smoke inside the aircraft, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The flight, Air Transat 942, left Montreal at 7:13 a.m. and landed at Newark’s Liberty International at 8:28 a.m., according to the FlightAware website. Initial reports say that passengers on the Boeing 737-800 evacuated using emergency slides.
While it is still unknown whether or not there was an actual fire, the FAA said the flight crew believed there was a fire in the cargo hold. Two injuries were reported, but none related to smoke inhalation. One person was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The flight was originally scheduled to land in Fort Lauderdale at 11 a.m.
The emergency landing shut Newark airport to all arrivals and departures. But by 10 a.m., it was reported that flights had resumed, although many were delayed.
A Newark airport official said that no fire was found but there was a lot of smoke after the aircraft landed. The cause remains under investigation.
An Air Transat statement said, “Our 189 passengers’ safety is our top priority and they were evacuated promptly upon landing.”
The Canadian airline said it will send another plane to get passengers to their destination.