A Delta Air Lines flight heading from Atlanta to Orlando had to return to the airport shortly after takeoff and evacuate all its occupants via emergency slides, after fumes and smoke were reported on board.

The incident occurred Saturday morning when Flight 2204 took off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 7:23 a.m. m.

Just 36 minutes later, the Boeing 757 returned to the airport due to reports of fumes in the cockpit and later smoke in the rear of the aircraft.

The plane was met by emergency teams on one of the airport's taxiways. A total of 199 passengers and six crew members were evacuated using emergency slides, Delta Air Lines said.

The airline said the crew followed established procedures to return to the airport after detecting the fumes.

“Safety is paramount at Delta and we apologize to our customers for their experience,” the company said in a statement.

The pilot ordered the plane to evacuate

The moment of greatest tension occurred when the aircraft was returning to the airport.

In communications with air traffic control, the pilot reported that the situation had changed and that it was necessary to disembark the passengers immediately.

"Delta 2204, change of plans. Now we have smoke in the rear and we need to disembark immediately," the pilot is heard saying in the air communications audio.

The aircraft landed in Atlanta and was met by emergency teams.

Delta reported that passengers were able to continue their trip to Orlando on another plane.

Passenger describes moments of tension

Jordan Conlin, one of the passengers who was traveling on the flight with his family, told Fox 5 about the tense moments they experienced during the return to Atlanta.

According to his story, the pilot informed the passengers that the cockpit had filled with fumes and that both pilots had had to put on oxygen masks.

Conlin said the flight initially seemed to proceed normally. However, passengers began to smell a slight odor that they described as similar to airplane fuel leaks.

The situation changed during landing. The passenger recalled hearing the pilot order the occupants to prepare for landing.

“When the pilot yells ‘brace, brace, brace’ during landing, I just think, ‘how bad is the situation really?’” he said.

Although the landing was smooth, Conlin said the evacuation generated moments of fear and confusion among passengers.

“Getting off the plane felt incredible because it was chaos,” he said.

The passenger described people screaming and panicking as they left the aircraft.

“You never think it's going to happen to you and suddenly what should have been a normal flight becomes something very, very scary,” he said.

Conlin indicated that he was finally able to continue the trip with his family and arrive in Orlando safely.

Delta inspected the Boeing 757

After the evacuation, maintenance teams inspected the Boeing 757.

So far, the airline has not reported what caused the fumes and smoke reported during the flight.

Delta confirmed that the crew acted in accordance with established procedures and that the plane returned to the airport as a safety measure.

Investigation into the origin of the fumes and smoke continues.

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