A Jet2 flight destined for Spain had to make an unexpected stop in London due to an emergency situation while flying at 37,000ft above southern England.
The flight, known as LS257, took off from Leeds Bradford Airport at 4.40pm on Wednesday heading to Palma de Mallorca. Approximately 40 minutes into the journey, the crew signaled a general emergency, denoted by Squawk 7700, because a passenger needed medical assistance, as stated by a spokesperson from Jet2.
Air traffic control swiftly rerouted the plane to London Stansted Airport, where emergency services were on standby, following standard procedures, according to aviation source AirLive. The aircraft touched down safely at 5.50pm, as confirmed by flight-tracking data.
This incident occurred after the Manchester Airports Group reported a 2.4% increase in passenger numbers in May compared to the previous year. The surge was attributed to a large influx of Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Crystal Palace fans traveling for European football finals.
On a different note, Heathrow Airport disclosed a decrease in passenger traffic last month despite setting a new record for its busiest day in May. The airport registered 7.1 million passengers passing through its terminals in May, a 1.2% decline from the previous year.
Passenger numbers from the UK dropped by 1.9%, while those from the Middle East plummeted by 31% due to the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran. However, this decline was less severe than the 5.3% decrease noted in April, which Heathrow attributed to temporary disruptions caused by the conflict.
Heathrow highlighted that May 22 marked its busiest day ever, with 262,000 passengers passing through at the onset of the school half-term break.
