A Jet2 flight originally heading for Spain had to make an unscheduled stop in London after experiencing an emergency while flying at 37,000ft over southern England.
Flight LS257, which took off from Leeds Bradford Airport at 4.40pm on Wednesday and was en route to Palma de Mallorca, was about 40 minutes into the trip when the crew signaled a Squawk 7700 – the international distress code – due to a passenger needing urgent medical attention, as per a Jet2 spokesperson.
Air traffic control swiftly rerouted the aircraft to London Stansted Airport, where emergency services were on standby, following standard procedures, according to aviation source AirLive. The plane touched down safely at 5.50pm, based on flight-tracking data.
This incident occurred amid a report from Manchester Airports Group, the owner of Manchester, Stansted, and East Midlands airports, which revealed a 2.4% increase in passenger numbers in May compared to the previous year. The surge was credited to numerous Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Crystal Palace fans traveling for European football finals.
Conversely, Heathrow Airport observed a decline in passenger traffic last month despite marking its busiest day ever in May. The airport disclosed that 7.1 million passengers passed through its terminals in May, reflecting a 1.2% drop year-on-year.
UK passenger figures saw a 1.9% dip, while Middle Eastern passenger numbers plummeted by 31% due to tensions arising from the US-Iran conflict. However, this decrease was less severe than the 5.3% decline recorded in April, which Heathrow attributed to temporary disruptions caused by the conflict.
Heathrow reported its busiest May day ever on May 22, with 262,000 passengers transiting the airport at the onset of the school half-term break.
