A passenger jet with Colombia's Avianca Airlines flying the London-Bogota route on Monday made an emergency landing at Maiquetia Airport in Caracas after its pressurization system failed, the company announced.
The Airbus A330 with 238 passengers and 13 crewmembers on board took off on Sunday from London and was en route to the Colombian capital, a route that Avianca resumed flying last Thursday after a 13-year hiatus.
"The aircraft's computers detected a failure in one of the valves controlling the pressurization and air conditioning system," whereupon the crew "decided to initiate the descent procedure that is usual in these circumstances," the airline said in a communique.
The aircraft arrived at the airport serving Caracas "without any problem," the communique added, going on to say that in cases of this kind an aircraft lands at the "nearest alternate airport."
Avianca said that the passengers, who were attended to by the airline's personnel in Venezuela, will be flown to Bogota on Monday on board another of the company's jets. EFE