The flight to Manchester from Egypt was diverted to Athens where passengers have been left stranded after the plane circled the airport before making the emergency landing
An easyJet flight from Egypt to Manchester was involved in an emergency landing after a pilot collapsed.
The easyJet flight had been travelling from Hurghada in Egypt to Manchester when one of the pilots had a medical emergency. Due to the medical emergency, the flight was diverted to Athens, where the remaining pilot needed to circle the airport.
Emergency vehicles waited for the plane on the runway in Athens in order to treat the other pilot. A passenger, who did not want to be named, told Mirror affiliate The Manchester Evening News they were two hours into the flight when they realised something was wrong.
Cabin crew had been serving drinks when the passenger recalled seeing them rush to the front of the plane where a man had collapsed. The passenger added: “At first we thought this may of been a passenger as nothing much was being said other than the screams asking if anyone is medically trained, where a few passengers got up and assisted the cabin crew.”
A stock image of an easyJet plane on a runway
The easyJet co-pilot was praised for how they handled the situation ( Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
The passenger also recalled a screen was pulled across the front part of the plane to give privacy to the pilot. They added: “The following call was from the cabin crew to advise this was the captain/pilot who was seeking medical attention and has fell unwell and we again would be further updated with what was going to happen.
“At this point the passengers were starting to get rather worried and anxious including myself knowing that it was a pilot and not the passenger.” The terrified passengers were told the remaining pilot would need to make an emergency landing.
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“The ride began to get very rough and scary and as we approached the runway we were welcomed with lots of emergency services such as fire engines, police, and ambulances all lined along the runway,” the passenger continued.
As they recalled the rough landing, the passenger shared: “We started to panic. I got upset once I felt how rocky and rough the landing was and started to panic thinking it was the end. Another passenger began to have a panic attack and was given an oxygen mask to help.”
The passenger said the cabin crew and co-pilot were “fantastic,” adding: “I’m just so glad we had fantastic cabin crew on board and the co-pilot landed us safely.” An easyJet told the outlet: “EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY2252 from Hurghada to Manchester yesterday evening was diverted to Athens due to the Captain requiring medical assistance.
“The First Officer performed a routine landing in accordance with standard operating procedures and the aircraft was met by paramedics on arrival in Athens. As a result the onward flight was delayed overnight and passengers will continue their journey to Manchester today. We did all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption and arranged hotel rooms and meals where available.
“We would like to apologise to passengers for the inconvenience caused and thank them for their patience and understanding.”
