On a journey from England to Turkey on Tuesday, a Jet2 aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Greece.
Birmingham Live was informed by a passenger that a flight attendant said the pilot had passed out.
According to accounts, a pilot of a jet made an emergency landing after reportedly fainting at 30,000 feet. The co-pilot took control of the aircraft in the cockpit.
According to a story from Birmingham Live, a Jet2 flight from Birmingham, England to Antalya, Turkey was forced to make an emergency landing in Thessaloniki, Greece, on Tuesday after a passenger claimed the pilot passed out during a turbulent flight.
The unidentified passenger told Birmingham Live, “While we were all [seated], we observed something was going on in the front of the plane. “While in turbulence, we believed someone had wounded themself in the restroom. Due to a medical situation on board, we were informed that we would be landing in Greece. Unknown to us was which portion.”
People were concerned because we had recently experienced turbulence and were unsure about what was going on, the passenger continued.
The tourist informed Birmingham Live that their family of four received food coupons worth €60 ($59.79) during the eight-hour delay in their arrival. They said that since Jet2 did not pay for delays brought on by medical emergencies, they would not be compensated.
An official from Jet2 said to Insider: “On Tuesday (August 23), due to one of the pilots feeling ill, flight LS1239 from Birmingham to Antalya was detoured to Thessaloniki Airport as a preventative measure. To transport clients to their destinations in Antalya that same evening, a new crew was flown to Thessaloniki.”
“As soon as we could, we let our customers know about it, and our personnel worked incredibly hard to take care of everyone. We apologise to everybody who has been inconvenienced by this unplanned delay.”
As shortages engulf the sector and put pilot endurance to the test, pilot welfare is becoming more and more of a priority.
The Aviation Herald claimed last week that an Ethiopian Airlines jet missed its descent because both of the pilots nodded off while flying.
Regulators have looked into other airlines, such WizzAir, over concerns that they may be pressuring pilots to fly when they are fatigued and to take on additional trips.