Emirates flight is grounded with smoke pouring from its rear moments before taking off from Russian airport to Dubai<br /><br />Fire appliances were seen spraying Boeing 777 ahead of the flight on Friday<br /><br />The plane was grounded at Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg due to concerns <br />An Emirates flight in Russia was forced to return to the gate after smoke began pouring from its rear just moments before takeoff.<br /><br />Fire appliances were seen spraying the smoking Boeing 777 ahead of a flight from St Petersburg to Dubai on Friday.<br /><br />Passengers were ordered to disembark into the terminal at Pulkovo airport shortly before midnight.<br /><br />'Smoke came from an aircraft engine at St Petersburg Pulkovo airport,' said a Russian emergency services official.<br /><br />'Flight EK176 from St Petersburg to Dubai on 30 June 2023 returned to the stand due to reports of smoke being detected during pushback for departure,' said an Emirates spokesperson.<br /><br />Fire crew spray Emirates plane after smoke appears from rear<br /><br />As a precaution, all passengers and crew were disembarked while the aircraft was attended by the local authorities and fire services.'<br /><br />The cause of the smoke - evidently linked to the plane's rear auxiliary power unit rather than a main engine on the wing - was not disclosed.<br /><br />A total of 228 passengers and 15 crew were disembarked.<br /><br />The Boeing 777 eventually took off some five hours late and arrived safely in Dubai at around 11.30am local time following a six and a half hour flight.<br /><br />The airline spokesperson said: 'Passengers were reboarded after inspections were completed and the aircraft departed with a delay.<br /><br />'We apologise for the inconvenience.<br /><br />'The safety of our passengers and cabin crew is of utmost importance and it will not be compromised.'<br /><br />Emirates has continued to operate flights to and from Russia despite Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, which has seen Western airlines cancel all services to the country.<br /><br />Emirates flight grounded with smoke pouring from rear moments before taking off from Russian airport to Dubai
