“Our 2-year-old began crying like many other children onboard because the aircraft was dropping so quickly for an emergency landing.”
Passengers reported the plane had a sudden drop in altitude as the crew, led by the less experienced first officer, rushed to make an emergency landing in Porto.
Emergency crews rushed to the plane after the landing, before the pilot was taken to hospital.
Passengers had to wait at the airport for another pilot to fly there and then be able to fly them home. Photo / Getty Images
Around 220 passengers were forced to wait up to 13 hours at the Portuguese airport. They were then flown home to Birmingham with a different crew in the cockpit.
Jet2 reportedly flew a pilot from Manchester to Porto to then take the passengers to their original destination in Birmingham.
Speaking to the Sun, a passenger said they were “stranded” in Porto for 13 hours without accommodation.
“They wouldn’t let us off the plane itself for over an hour,” the passenger recalled.
“Then we were just left to wander around. There was nowhere to stay. They said accommodation was too expensive.
“The airline told us the pilot had suffered a heart attack in the cockpit. We have full sympathy for him of course.”
In a statement to the Sun, Jet2 said “Flight LS1266 from Tenerife to Birmingham diverted to Porto on Thursday (21st May), due to one of the pilots feeling unwell.
“At no point was safety compromised, and customers subsequently continued their journey,” the statement added, before apologising to customers for the delay.
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