An air carrier flight crew reported that while en route flight attendants complained of acrid fumes ...

Narrative:

During climbout flight attendants called and complained of mild burning smell in cabin. They investigated and then said smell went away. After top of climb; flight attendants called back and smell was there again. They described the smell as acrid and burning; not like something on fire; but more industrial; with oil or grease mixed in. The concentration was strongest in the aft galley and the forward galley. Soon after the flight attendants all reported burning eyes and throats; and the two of them said they were having trouble breathing. I declared an emergency and diverted. Approach and landing were normal. I asked arff to look over the aircraft in case of a cargo fire; and then taxied to a hardstand. The flight attendants asked for medical help. After being examined; all four asked to be removed from the rest of the trip. They all complained of headaches. Passengers were removed from airplane and later continued on another flight.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An Air Carrier flight crew reported that while en route Flight Attendants complained of acrid fumes so they declared an emergency and diverted to a nearby airport where the Flight Attendants received medical treatment.

Narrative: During climbout Flight Attendants called and complained of mild burning smell in cabin. They investigated and then said smell went away. After top of climb; Flight Attendants called back and smell was there again. They described the smell as acrid and burning; not like something on fire; but more industrial; with oil or grease mixed in. The concentration was strongest in the aft galley and the forward galley. Soon after the Flight Attendants all reported burning eyes and throats; and the two of them said they were having trouble breathing. I declared an emergency and diverted. Approach and landing were normal. I asked ARFF to look over the aircraft in case of a cargo fire; and then taxied to a hardstand. The Flight Attendants asked for medical help. After being examined; all four asked to be removed from the rest of the trip. They all complained of headaches. Passengers were removed from airplane and later continued on another flight.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	895007
Time
Date	201006
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	FO
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Commercial Fixed Wing
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	Pilot Not Flying First Officer
Events
Anomaly	Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

An air carrier flight crew reported that while en route flight attendants complained of acrid fumes so they declared an emergency and diverted to a nearby airport where the flight attendants received medical treatment.