Ryanair flight: Plane from Gatwick Airport to Morocco forced to make emergency landing in Portugal after pilot falls ill

A Ryanair plane was forced to divert and make an emergency landing at a different airport after the pilot fell ill. The aircraft was heading from London Gatwick to Morocco but ended up landing in Faro, Portugal yesterday morning (Tuesday 5 December), according to local reports.

Portuguese paper Correio da Manha said the pilot had told passengers before landing that he wasn’t feeling well and the diversion triggered a ‘red alert’ at the airport. It was not immediately clear if the pilot had landed the plane or handed it over to his co-pilot and whether he had stayed on the aircraft after reaching Faro or been taken to hospital.

The 18 passengers on board were forced to wait at the Algarve airport to take off again. A spokesperson from Ryanair told The Daily Mail: “There was no ‘emergency landing’. This flight from Stansted to Morocco diverted to Faro when one of the pilots became ill. The aircraft landed normally, and passengers were transferred to an alternative aircraft operated by another crew before continuing to Morocco.”

The incident comes after a Ryanair flight from Edinburgh was forced to make an emergency landing at Manchester Airport shortly after take-off. The aircraft diverted due to a passenger becoming ill on board. Crew called ahead and requested a diversion to Manchester for the medical emergency.