A transatlantic flight has diverted to Shannon Airport this afternoon after the crew declared a medical emergency.
Lufthansa flight LH-470 was travelling from Frankfurt, Germany to Toronto in Canada and was about two and half hours into its journey when the crew contacted air traffic controllers in Ireland at around 3.30pm.
The Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner jet was about 500 kilometres north west of Ireland and around 700 kilometres from Shannon Airport at the time.
The crew declared a medical emergency and requested clearance to turn around and divert to Shannon Airport. Authorities at Shannon were notified of the impending emergency arrival while the National Ambulance Service was also alerted and requested to dispatch resources to the airport.
Shannon Airport’s Fire and Rescue Service was placed on standby ahead of the jet’s arrival as a precaution. The flight crew had confirmed they would be making an overweight landing so emergency vehicles were waiting to meet the aircraft when it landed safely at 4.25pm.
Fire and rescue vehicles pursued the aircraft along the runway before accompanying it to the terminal building. Fire crews then checked to confirm that the aircraft’s braking system hadn’t overheated during the emergency landing.
At the terminal, airport authorities, ground crews and ambulance paramedics were waiting for the aircraft. An ambulance and advanced paramedic unit were dispatched to the airport.
The passenger was assessed and treated at the airport before being removed by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for further treatment. No details about the patient or their condition is available.
The flight is expected to resume its journey this evening.
Of the estimated 70 unscheduled landings at Shannon so far this year, over a quarter have been medical emergencies. Shannon deals with more diversions every year than the country’s other airports combined.