An easyJet plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Italy after its pilot blacked out on a flight from Gatwick to Crete, according to reports. The plane was landed safely at Venice’s Marco Polo airport by the co-pilot after his colleague fell ill at the controls. Paramedics met the aircraft on landing and the captain was taken to hospital.
According to The Sun, the pilot lost consciousness during the flight, and remains in hospital in a non-life threatening condition. The plane, which had 164 passengers on board, had taken off from London at 7.25am, with easyJet’s website announcing the plane had been diverted to the airport near Venice at about midday UK time. A spokesman for the low-cost carrier confirmed the flight had been diverted “as a result of the Captain requiring medical assistance.”
“The First Officer performed a routine landing in line with procedures,” they continued.
“The aircraft landed safely and was met by emergency services on arrival. The safety and well-being of its passengers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority.”
Passengers have now arrived in Heraklion, Crete, after the company sent a replacement aircraft to Venice this afternoon. The medical emergency comes days after an American Airlines pilot died at the controls. Michael Johnston, 57, from West Jordan, Utah, was flying from Phoenix to Boston on Monday morning when he became ‘incapacitated’. He was declared dead a few minutes after the plane landed in Syracuse, New York.
Meanwhile, another flight was forced to divert because a pilot blacked out. The United Airlines flight from Houston to San Francisco had to be diverted to Albuquerque after the co-pilot passed out on Tuesday.
