CHIANG MAI: A Jetstar Pacific flight taking Buddhist pilgrims from Hanoi to Bodh Gaya in India made an emergency landing at Chiang Mai airport on Monday.
Chiang Mai airport said the plane requested permission to land at 11.20am. The pilot reported finding smoke in the luggage compartment of the aircraft.
The A320 aircraft landed safely at Chiang Mai and all 181 passengers and crew were safe, the airport said. All were evacuated from the jet.
Chiang Mai airport general manager Gp Capt Wisut Chanthana told JS100 radio the plane had departed Noi Ban airport in Vietnam to Bodh Gaya airport in the Indian state of Bihar.
Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district. It is where Gautama Buddha is said to have obtained Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree.
It was earlier reported the plane was en route to Kolkata.