Panic in the air/ Pilot suffers heart attack, plane with 220 passengers on board makes emergency landing in Portugal

2026-05-24 12:57:03Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Panic in the air/ Pilot suffers heart attack, plane with 220 passengers on board

A British airline Jet2 flight with 220 passengers on board was forced to make an emergency landing in Porto, Portugal, after the pilot suffered a heart attack while en route from Tenerife to Birmingham.

According to reports, the incident occurred while the plane was flying at an altitude of around 30,000 meters, causing moments of panic among passengers. The crew reacted immediately by requesting medical assistance on board, while the co-pilot took control of the plane and initiated emergency landing procedures.

Witnesses described tense scenes as the plane made a rapid descent to Porto. A passenger told The Sun that many people woke up in alarm, while flight attendants called for a doctor and children were crying in fear.

"We were asleep when the chaos started. The lights came on and the crew seemed very worried," he said. The plane landed safely at Porto airport at 2:11 a.m. on Friday. The pilot was immediately taken to hospital for medical treatment.

Passengers were then flown to the UK on a replacement flight with new crew. Jet2 said the safety of passengers was never at risk and apologised for the inconvenience, while also offering free rebooking for passengers on future flights.


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