Haze or smoke on Delta plane forces passengers to evacuate via slides at Atlanta airport

ATLANTA -- Delta passengers were forced to evacuate via slides at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday after haze or smoke was observed in the plane, according to the airline and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Delta Flight 876 was en route from Atlanta to Columbia, South Carolina, on Monday morning when "haze inside the aircraft was observed," a Delta spokesperson said. The FAA said "the crew reported possible smoke in the flightdeck."

The Boeing 717 aircraft -- which had 94 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants on board -- returned to Atlanta and landed safely, according to Delta and the FAA.

Atlanta Fire Rescue helped passengers deplane, according to the airport.

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"There is a moderate impact to operations at this time," according to the airport.

"Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, and we apologize to our customers for the experience," a Delta spokesperson said.

The FAA will investigate.

ABC News' Ben Stein contributed to this report.