A transatlantic jet made an unscheduled landing at Shannon Airport early today after a passenger fell ill during the flight.
Air France flight AF-099 left Miami at 8.25pm Tuesday (1.25am Wednesday – Irish time) bound for Paris when it diverted.
The Boeing 777-300(ER) jet was over two hours west of Shannon when airport authorities were contacted and informed the flight would be diverting.
The plane was outside Irish airspace at the time but once within range of the Irish Aviation Authority’s North Atlantic Communications Centre at Ballygirreen in Co Clare, the crew informed controllers of their situation.
The crew confirmed they had a sick passenger on board and that they wished to divert and seek medical attention.
The flight landed at 8.21am and taxied to the terminal where ambulance paramedics were waiting to board the aircraft.
The passenger was assessed and treated at the scene before being removed by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.
The flight was able to continue its journey to Paris about 90 minutes after landing once the passengers baggage had been removed from the aircraft in accordance with strict security procedures.
Shannon Airport has handled six medical emergencies since the start of the year including one where a man in his 60’s died after the flight on which he was travelling diverted in February.
In 2014, the mid west airport saw an almost doubling of medical emergencies, handling a total of 22 incidents where aircraft were forced to divert to seek urgent medical attention. Last year, the number of medical diversions increased further to 27.