A JetBlue Airbus A220 was forced to halt its climb out of LaGuardia Airport and make a diversion after a burning smell was reported onboard. The flight diverted to nearby New York JFK Airport where it landed safely approximately 30 minutes later.

JetBlue A220 diversion due to burning odor

The Airbus A220-300 was operating JetBlue flight B6561 from New York LaGuardia (LGA) to Palm Beach International (PBI) last Saturday when the crew stopped its climb at around 5,000 ft. According to The Aviation Herald, this was due to a “burning odor onboard,” with no further information available at this stage on which area of the cabin the burning smell was detected.

jetblue diversion fr24

Photo: Flightradar24

Having taken off from LaGuardia at 12:50, 20 minutes after its scheduled departure time, tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the plane circling south of New York City at 4,000 ft before coming in to land at JFK Airport’s Runway 04L at 13:22.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed it is investigating the issue. In a statement, the FAA said,

“JetBlue Airways Flight 561 landed safely at John F. Kennedy International Airport around 1:20 p.m. local time on Saturday, Sept. 21, after the crew reported a burning smell. The Airbus A220-300 took off from LaGuardia Airport and was headed to Palm Beach International Airport. The FAA will investigate.”

Passengers onboard the flight were accommodated on a replacement aircraft (N3023J) and landed at Palm Beach International just before 19:00, representing a delay of around four hours. As seen from this incident, a burning odor onboard an aircraft is a safety concern and will usually force a flight to divert and land at the nearest suitable airport.

A similar incident occurred on a Delta Air Lines A220-300 last month, when a burning odor entered the cabin shortly after takeoff, prompting a return to its departure airport. Unfortunately for those passengers, they were on an overnight flight and a replacement aircraft wasn’t forthcoming, so they were put up in a hotel and boarded a replacement flight the next day.

New airframe

The aircraft involved in this incident – registered as N3125J – is less than two years old, having been delivered to JetBlue in March 2023. The A220 was given the name ‘Blueteus Maximus’ and, according to data from ch-aviation, has completed over 5,000 flight hours during its 18 months at JetBlue.

JetBlue Airways Airbus A220-300

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

JetBlue is prioritizing the arrival of new A220 aircraft, which is set to phase out its retiring Embraer E190 fleet by the end of 2025. By then, the carrier will operate a simplified fleet consisting of the A220 and A320-family aircraft.

As detailed recently in JetBlue’s ‘JetForward’ five-year plan, the airline will defer deliveries of some A321neo and A321XLR planes in favor of the A220, and will focus on rebuilding its East Coast leisure network. The carrier’s delivery schedule will see it induct 20 A220s each year through to 2029 – it currently has 37 A220s in active service, while its Embraer E190 fleet has dwindled down to just 20 aircraft.

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