A flight from Dublin to the US has been forced to turn around over the Atlantic and divert to Shannon Airport after a passenger fell ill.
United Airlines flight UA-22 departed Dublin at around 9.50am bound for Newark in US state of New Jersey. The Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner jet was about 45 minutes into its journey when the flight crew declared a medical emergency.
At the time, the crew had been in contact with controllers at the Irish Aviation Authority’s North Atlantic Communications Centre at Ballygirreen in Co Clare.
The flight crew confirmed they had a male passenger on board and wished to turn around, divert to Shannon Airport and seek medical attention for him. The passenger is understood to have been suffering from ‘acute pain’.
The crew confirmed they had been in contact with medical professionals at a specialist centre on the US who recommended the flight divert. Flight attendants cared for the passenger during the journey to Shannon.
In the meantime, the National Ambulance Service was contacted and requested to mobilised resources to the airport. An ambulance and rapid response advanced paramedics unit were dispatched to Shannon in advance of the jet’s arrival.
The flight landed safely at 11.25am and taxied to the terminal building where ambulance service paramedics were waiting to board the aircraft.
The passenger was removed to University Hospital Limerick for treatment. The flight is expected to resume its journey shortly.