An easyJet flight from Manchester to Egypt has been forced to carry out an emergency landing after a pilot on board collapsed.
The plane had been travelling from Hurghada in Egypt to the northern English city on Saturday evening but had to be diverted to Athens when one of the pilots had a medical emergency.
As soon as the pilot collapsed, cabin crew members were seen rushing to the front of the plane, as the passengers on board started to realise something was wrong two hours into the flight.
One passenger told The Mirror that crew members then ‘screamed if anyone was medically trained’, leading to a few ‘getting up and assisting the cabin crew.’
They added: ‘The following call was from the cabin crew to advise this was the captain/pilot who was seeking medical attention and has fell unwell and we again would be further updated with what was going to happen.
‘At this point the passengers were starting to get rather worried and anxious including myself knowing that it was a pilot and not the passenger.’
The unnamed passenger said those on board were ‘rather worried and anxious’ after finding out the pilot had collapsed and were told by the crew they needed to make an emergency landing.
Thankfully, the remaining pilot was able to carry out the ‘very rough and scary’ landing safely, which allowed paramedics to enter the aircraft and provide treatment.
The easyJet flight been travelling from Hurghada in Egypt to the northern English city on Saturday evening but had to be diverted to Athens when one of the pilots had a medical emergency (file image)
Describing the chaotic scenes during the landing, the passenger said: ‘We started to panic thinking it was the end. Another passenger began to have a panic attack and was given an oxygen mask to help.’
After touching down safely, the crew and passengers were greeted by a large number of fire engines, police cars and ambulances.
An easyJet spokesperson said: ‘easyJet can confirm that flight EZY2252 from Hurghada to Manchester yesterday evening was diverted to Athens due to the Captain requiring medical assistance.
‘The First Officer performed a routine landing in accordance with standard operating procedures and the aircraft was met by paramedics on arrival in Athens.
‘As a result the onward flight was delayed overnight and passengers will continue their journey to Manchester today. We did all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption and arranged hotel rooms and meals where available.
‘We would like to apologise to passengers for the inconvenience caused and thank them for their patience and understanding.’
