Two passenger jets diverted to Shannon Airport today after their flight crews declared medical emergencies.
The first diversion involved Air Transat flight TS-2122 which was travelling from Toronto, Canada to Gatwick Airport in England at the time. There were 314 passengers and crew on board the Airbus A330-300 jet.
The National Ambulance Service was alerted and dispatched resources to the airport ahead of the flight’s arrival. The flight landed at 10.02am.
It’s not know how many persons travelled to University Hospital Limerick for treatment but it’s understood the flight crew requested medical assistance for two people.
The flight continued its journey to Gatwick at 11.20am.
Later, a second transatlantic flight diverted to Shannon after the crew also declared a medical emergency.
Austrian Airlines flight OS-65 was travelling from Vienna, Austria to Chicago in the United States at the time.
The Boeing 777-200(ER) jet was routing over Scotland when the flight crew declared an emergency and turned to divert to Shannon. The crew reported they had a female passenger on board who required medical assistance.
The crew confirmed they would have to dump aviation fuel before landing. This procedure is carried out to ensure an aircraft touches down within safe landing weight limits.
The flight began to jettison fuel as it descended towards Shannon and was routed out over Galway Bay to complete fuel dumping before commencing an approach to Shannon.
As a result of having to dump fuel, Shannon Airport’s Fire and Rescue Service was alerted in accordance with standard procedures. Fire crews were deployed to holding points adjacent to the runway were standing by for the aircraft when it landed safely at 1.05pm.
The woman was assessed at the airport and later transported to University Hospital Limerick for treatment. No information about the condition of the patients is available.
The Austrian Airlines flight later resumed its journey.