A Jet2 flight from Spain to the UK was forced to divert to Portugal after the pilot fell “unwell” mid-flight.
Flight LS1266 from Tenerife to Birmingham made an unscheduled landing in Porto in the early hours of Friday morning.
According to FlightAware data, the Airbus A321 diverted almost three hours into the four-hour journey, landing at Porto’s Francisco Sa Carneiro airport at 2.11am.
Emergency services boarded the aircraft with up to 220 passengers on board while it was on the runway for medics to treat the pilot before he was transported to hospital.
One passenger told The Sun that they were stranded in Portugal for over 13 hours without accommodation after being held on the plane for an hour.
Another told the newspaper: “My partner and I were asleep when we were awoken by chaos.
“Lights began flashing, and hostesses who were visibly upset, seeking a doctor.
“Our two-year-old began crying like many other children onboard because the aircraft was dropping so quickly for an emergency landing.”
Passengers were able to continue their onward journey after Jet2 flew a replacement pilot from Manchester to Porto.
A spokesperson for Jet2 said: “Flight LS1266 from Tenerife to Birmingham diverted to Porto on Thursday (21st May), due to one of the pilots feeling unwell.
“At no point was safety compromised, and customers subsequently continued their journey.
“We would like to apologise to customers for this unforeseen delay.”
It’s not the first flight to divert due to a medical emergency this year.
Earlier this month, a flight to Zürich made a diversion to Kazakhstan after the co-pilot experienced a medical emergency.
Swiss flight LX124 took off from Seoul in South Korea just before 10am local time for a 12 and a half hour flight to Zürich in Switzerland on 6 May.
While flying over Kazakhstan, just over six hours into the flight, the Airbus A350 took a sharp turn south over the Karaganda region and diverted its course to the country’s largest city, Almaty.
Swiss confirmed the incident, stating that the unscheduled landing occurred due to a “medical emergency involving the co-pilot”.
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