A flight from Tenerife to Birmingham lands in emergency after the heart attack of one of the pilots

Moments of tension and nervousness aboard a flight of the British company Jet2 covering the route between Tenerife and Birmingham after one of the pilots suffered a heart attack in mid-flight when the plane was flying over the Atlantic at about 30,000 feet of altitude, close to 9,100 meters.

The emergency forced the crew to modify the route and make an urgent landing at Francisco Sá Carneiro airport in Oporto during the early hours of Friday. According to several passengers, the situation inside the plane was chaotic for several minutes, especially when crew members began to walk the aisle desperately looking for a doctor among the travelers.

Some witnesses explain that several flight attendants appeared visibly affected and in tears while asking if there were healthcare professionals on board capable of assisting the pilot before landing. The scene generated enormous concern among the more than 200 passengers traveling in the aircraft heading to the United Kingdom.

Emergency services boarded the plane as soon as it landed

The plane managed to land safely shortly after two in the morning in the Portuguese city. As soon as it touched down, several medical teams and emergency vehicles quickly accessed the runway to attend to the affected pilot.

Passengers remained inside the plane for more than an hour while the paramedics intervened in the cockpit and coordinated the operation. Many of them still did not understand what exactly had happened and were only informed later that one of the pilots had suffered a cardiac problem during the journey.

Although the company has not detailed the current condition of the pilot, it did later confirm that the diversion occurred because one of the crew members “was feeling unwell”.

More than 13 hours trapped at Oporto airport

After the emergency landing, numerous passengers also began to complain about the subsequent management of the incident. Travelers reported having remained blocked for more than thirteen hours at the Portuguese airport before finally being able to return to Birmingham on another plane and with a new crew.

Several affected individuals assured British media that they barely received information during much of the wait and criticized the airline for not providing accommodation despite the long hours of accumulated delay.

“We were stranded in Portugal for more than thirteen hours without a hotel and practically without information,” one of the passengers told the British newspaper The Sun. Other travelers explained that tiredness and uncertainty increased as the morning progressed without clear news about when they could resume the journey.

Jet2 defends that “safety was never compromised”

The company Jet2 has sought to reduce the concern generated by the incident and has insisted that at no time was there a risk to passengers.

In a statement sent to British media, the airline confirmed that flight LS1266 between Tenerife and Birmingham had to be diverted to Oporto due to the indisposition of one of the pilots, although it defended that “safety was never compromised” and that travelers were subsequently able to continue their journey “without problems”.