On the morning of May 11, 2026, an incident occurred at Athens International Airport (Eleftherios Venizelos) involving a Lufthansa Airbus A321neo. The aircraft, registration D-AIEA, which had departed as scheduled for Munich as flight LH1753, had to abort its climb just 13 minutes after takeoff and initiate an immediate return.
The maneuver was triggered by a warning message in the cockpit indicating a fire in the area of the auxiliary power unit (APU) in the tail of the aircraft. During the approach, the crew also reported a strong odor in the rear of the cabin.
After landing on runway 03L, the pilots, given the unclear danger situation, initiated an emergency evacuation via the slides. At that time, the aircraft was still on the taxiway, surrounded by airport firefighters who were already on standby. According to recent reports from the Greek Civil Aviation Authority and local media, at least three people were injured during the evacuation. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals for initial medical treatment, while the remaining passengers and crew were cared for in the terminal.
Investigations by technicians and fire safety experts on site are now focusing on the APU (Automatic Power Unit), which is responsible for supplying power to the aircraft on the ground and in emergency situations. The affected aircraft, D-AIEA, is a modern "neo"-generation aircraft that entered service only a few years ago. It is being examined whether a technical defect or a component failure triggered the fire alarm and smoke development. The incident led to temporary delays in operations at Athens Airport, as the affected runway had to be closed for the recovery of the aircraft and the cleanup of the area.
Lufthansa has confirmed the incident and emphasized that passenger safety was its top priority at all times. Passengers were rebooked on later flights or accommodated in hotels. The exact cause of the warning message is now being investigated in cooperation with the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation and the Greek authorities. This incident underscores the strict safety protocols in air traffic, which stipulate immediate evacuation even in the case of unconfirmed warnings to eliminate any risk to passengers.