A Jet2 flight from Lanzarote to Birmingham with nearly 200 passengers on board was diverted to Faro Airport in Portugal after a code red alert due to a medical emergency.
The plane, with 194 passengers, touched down just after 5pm local time this afternoon following the on board drama.
A co-pilot on the flight had fallen ill and the plane had to be diverted.
Emergency teams including paramedics were placed on standby and met the plane on the runway when it landed.
A Jet2 flight from Lanzarote to Birmingham with nearly 200 passengers on board was diverted to Faro Airport in Portugal after a code red alert due to a medical emergency
The incident happened on Jet2 flight LS1202, which took off from the Lanzarote capital at 3.30pm local time and was due to arrive at Birmingham at 7.45pm.
A local emergency response official said: ‘It was a major operation, We were able to mobilise 34 emergency vehicles and 81 men, among them ambulances, firefighting vehicles and police.
‘A traffic lane was freed up between the airport and the hospital and backup teams were called to go to the hospital.
‘The response is an automatic response to a code red alert.’
A Jet2 spokesman said the co-pilot was ‘okay’. It was not immediately clear if the First Officer had been taken to a local hospital.
The budget airline said: ‘Due to the unforeseen nature of this diversion, Jet2.com apologises for any delays experienced by customers whilst onward transport is being arranged.
The incident happened on Jet2 flight LS1202, which took off from the Lanzarote capital at 3.30pm local time and was due to arrive at Birmingham at 7.45pm
‘Jet2.com wishes to assure all customers that everything possible is being done to allow customers to continue their journey to Birmingham airport with the least delay possible.
‘Despite the disruption caused, we hope customers had a pleasant flight.’
The airline has sent another plane and crew from Manchester to pick up the holidaymakers which was expected to arrive around 8pm local time.
The airline said in a statement: ‘Flight LS1202 from Lanzarote to Birmingham had to be diverted to Faro Airport today, due to the First Officer feeling unwell.
‘We apologise to all affected customers for any inconvenience and we will have customers on their way as soon as possible.’