A transatlantic jet has turned around over the North Atlantic and diverted to Shannon Airport this afternoon with an ill passenger.
Austrian Airlines flight OS-87 was three hours into its journey from Vienna to New York when the crew declared a medical emergency at around 1.00pm.
The Boeing 777-200 jet was about 400 kilometres west of Ireland when the crew reported they had a elderly female passenger for whom they required medical attention.
The crew requested clearance to turn around and divert to Shannon and asked that emergency medical services be alerted.
The flight landed at 1.50pm and was met at the terminal by National Ambulance Service paramedics and airport personnel.
The woman was assessed and treated at the scene before being removed to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.
The flight has since continued its journey to New York.
While this is the first medical diversion to Shannon this year, on January 1st, a 62-year-old man died on a flight from Kuwait City to New York that was scheduled to make a technical stop at Shannon.