A flight from the United States to Europe diverted to Shannon Airport in the early hours of this morning to seek medical assistance for a passenger.
Air France flight AF-031, departed Atlanta, Georgia at around 8.45pm (Irish time) last night bound for Paris in France. The Boeing 777-328(ER) jet was about 250 kilometres southwest of Shannon when the crew declared a medical emergency.
Shortly after 3.00am, the flight crew issued a ‘pan-pan’ radio call reporting to air traffic controllers that they had a medical emergency onboard. The crew originally requested to divert to Dublin. Soon afterwards however, the pilot confirmed they wished to reroute to Shannon instead.
The crew confirmed they had a male passenger in his 60s who required urgent medical attention but was being cared for by two doctors on board and had been administered oxygen.
Authorities at Shannon were advised of the unscheduled arrival while the National Ambulance Service was also alerted and requested to dispatch resources to the airport.
The flight landed safely at 3.32am and was met at the terminal by ambulance paramedics and airport staff. The passenger was assessed at the airport before being transported to hospital for treatment.
The flight resumed its journey to Paris shortly after 5.00am.