A Delta Air Lines flight from Lagos, Nigeria to Atlanta was diverted last week after one of its galley ovens caught on fire shortly after takeoff, grounding the plane for two days, according to the airline.

On Sept. 23, Delta flight 55 had departed Murtala Muhammed International Airport on time at 11:40 a.m. for its nearly 12-hour journey to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport when the crew noticed one of the the Airbus A330-200's galley ovens showing "indication of a small-scale fire" caused by "food debris on the oven's heating element," Delta spokesperson Berj Alexanian told USA TODAY in an email.

Since the fire was contained in the oven, the crew didn't employ the onboard fire extinguisher. However, the pilot declared an emergency with air traffic control and the flight made an emergency diversion to Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana. The flight was carrying four pilots, nine flight attendants and 188 passengers, the airline said.

The aircraft safely landed about an hour and a half later at 12:30 p.m. local time, according to FlightAware. Upon arrival, maintenance teams examined the aircraft and confirmed there was no damage from the fire. No injuries were reported.

Passengers were given overnight accommodations and the flight continued its journey to Atlanta from Accra two days later on Sept. 25.

"As nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and crew, the flight crew followed procedures and safely diverted to the nearest international airport," said Alexanian. "We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel plans and we thank them for their patience."

In January 2024, an American Airlines flight from Austin to Charlotte was diverted to Houston for a similar issue. About a half hour after takeoff, an oven in the Boeing 737-800's forward galley caught on fire. Although no one was injured and the plane was later declared safe for flying, the incident added about eight hours to the journey.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Delta Air Lines flight makes emergency landing after galley oven catches on fire

Reporting by Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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