*Update – Flight LS-415 departed Shannon again at 10.24pm destined for Gran Canaria and not Lanzarote as originally scheduled.
It’s understood this is because it will be too late to land in Lanzarote which doesn’t accept flights after midnight. The passengers are expected to be flown to Lanzarote in the morning.
A holiday flight diverted to Shannon Airport this afternoon after the crew reported they had a passenger on board who required medical attention.
Jet2 flight LS-415 was travelling from Leeds in England to the Spanish island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands at the time. The crew made contact with air traffic controllers at Shannon and advised them of the their issue. There were 168 passengers and a crew of six on board.
At around 4.40pm, when the Boeing 737-8MG jet was almost an hour into its journey and about 125 kilometres south of Ireland, the crew requested clearance to turn around and reroute to Shannon Airport.
They confirmed that a female passenger had fallen ill and they wished to divert to Shannon and seek medical assistance. The National Ambulance Service was alerted and requested to mobilise paramedics to Shannon.
The flight landed safely at 5.07pm and was met at the terminal by ambulance paramedics. The passenger was removed to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.
The airline is sending another aircraft to Shannon later this evening with a replacement crew who will continue the journey to Lanzarote.
The airline has told passengers: “We’re sorry to tell you that due to a medical incident onboard, causing your aircraft to divert to Shannon, your flight has been delayed. Please see above for this flight’s new schedule.
Due to the delay, we’re giving you a voucher towards some light refreshments worth €8 each. You can pick up your voucher from a member of Swissport staff at the airport and you can use it at various cafés and restaurants in the terminal building.
We’ll also add any new updates here on our website and let affected customers know by email, SMS and information letter. We’ll have you on your way as soon as we can.”
