Co-Pilot Faints On Lisbon-Bound Flight, Rare “Red Alert” Issued

The 193-passenger flight made a safe, “in line with procedures” landing in Portugal.

An co-pilot was hospitalised after he fainted on a flight from London to Portugal on July 27. He became ill during the approach to Lisbon Airport on easyJet Flight EZY2459 from Luton. Upon landing, he was attended to by paramedics at the airport. The first officer was then sent to Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon for medical treatment, as per a report in the Independent.

The Airbus A320 aircraft issued a rare “red alert,” which is an obligatory stop of operations as a safety precaution, as the medical situation developed. The 193-passenger flight made a safe, “in line with procedures” landing in Portugal.

A spokesperson for easyJet said in a statement: “easyJet can confirm that the flight EZY2459 from Luton to Lisbon was met by the paramedics upon landing due to a pilot member feeling unwell.

“The Captain landed the flight routinely in line with procedures and passengers disembarked normally. At no point was the safety of the flight compromised. The safety and welfare of passengers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority,” they said.

Notably, passengers leaving for the return trip to London from Luton experienced a three-hour delay.

Meanwhile, a few weeks ago, a pilot of a small aircraft experienced a medical emergency when a passenger took over and the aircraft crashed on an island in Massachusetts, US, as per The Washington Post.

The event happened in West Tisbury, Massachusetts, close to Martha’s Vineyard Airport. According to Massachusetts State Police, the male pilot, who is aged 79, experienced an emergency during the plane’s final approach. “The crash resulted in a hard landing outside the runway that caused the aircraft’s left wing to break in half,” The Post quoted the state police as saying.

The pilot was then taken to a Boston hospital in critical condition. The female passenger was not hurt and was released from a local hospital, according to The Post, citing authorities.