The flight landed on schedule at Dublin Airport without further incident.
“I was in the back with my son,” said Fearghal O’Lideacha of Dublin, who lives in Zurich and was on board the flight. As far as he could remember, the pre-recorded message said, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is an emergency. Prepare for an emergency landing,” she told the Irish Times.
Fearghal O’Lideacha’s son said he is interested in aviation and knew that an emergency landing meant landing in the water. He went on to say that there was very little response to the announcement, possibly because so many people were wearing headphones.
The passenger made eye contact with a woman who had also heard the message. “I could see the dismay on her face,” he told The Irish Times. The flight attendants sat behind the curtains at either end of the plane, and no one came rushing out to tell passengers what to do, which he took as a good sign.
A male passenger at the front of the plane went to the curtain and spoke to the cabin crew, and when he turned around his body language showed he was not panicking, Mr O’Lideacha said.
“Then one of the crew members made a statement that we should ignore the earlier announcement. That was a great relief. I’d say it was about two minutes later.”
An airline spokeswoman said that during Aer Lingus flight EI343 from Zurich to Dublin, an incorrect pre-recorded announcement was temporarily played on board.
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