Dylan Bettencourt
A flight from the city of Birmingham in England to Antalya in Turkey was at 30,000 feet when the pilot lost consciousness.
Heavy turbulence made the pilot faint so the co-pilot had to take the initiative and man the controls.
The co-pilot flew competently, and the plane made a successful emergency landing in Greece. They did such a good job that passengers were more upset about missing out on a R1,000 dinner voucher than the plane ever being in danger!
An unnamed passenger told Birmingham Live that when they were seated they noticed something was going on in the front of the plane.
“We thought someone had hurt themselves in the toilet during the turbulence. We were told we were landing in Greece due to a medical emergency on board. We weren’t told what emergency.”
The same traveller said their arrival in Turkey was delayed by eight hours. He also complained that his family had missed out on their meal vouchers because Jet2 does not cover delays caused by medical emergencies.
“Flight LS1239 from Birmingham to Antalya diverted to Thessaloniki Airport, Greece as a precautionary measure on Tuesday due to one of the pilots feeling unwell,” a Jet2 spokesperson told Business Insider.
A replacement crew was flown to Thessaloniki so that we could get customers on their way to Antalya that same evening.”
The spokesperson said they informed the customers as soon as possible and their teams worked hard to look after everyone.
“We apologise to anyone affected by this unforeseen delay.”
Welfare amongst pilots has become a talking point since the increase in travel following Covid-19 regulations being eased worldwide.
A recent Ethiopian Airlines flight missed its stop because the pilot was believed to have fallen asleep in the air.
Another airline WizzAir was investigated for encouraging pilots to work extra hours and take extra flights to keep up with flight demand.
Image source: @ManchesterEveningNews
