EasyJet flight from Crete is forced to make emergency landing at Edinburgh Airport after captain fell ill on approach and was forced to use the toilet
- EasyJet flight EZY6938 made the emergency landing on Sunday morning
- The captain fell ill on the four-and-a-half hour flight from Crete to Edinburgh
- Passengers witnessed fire engines and ambulances rushing on to the runway
- The airline confirmed the chaos which unfolded at the Scottish airport
An EasyJet flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Edinburgh Airport after the captain fell ill on approach and had to use the toilet.
Chaos unfolded on the four-and-a-half hour flight from Heraklion, Crete, in the early hours of Sunday morning as ‘young looking’ first officer was forced to land the plane instead.
According to passengers, the captain was seen entering the plane’s toilet and didn’t come out until the aircraft was on the runway in Scotland’s capital.
The captain onboard EasyJet flight EZY6938 fell ill and the plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Edinburgh Airport (pictured) before paramedics rushed on to the runway in response
Holidaymakers were allegedly told over the tannoy system on flight EZY6938 that the captain had taken ill – as emergency services scrambled on the runway as the plane landed.
It’s believed the pilot and co-pilot had been on duty for 13 hours because of several delays taking off to the Greek island earlier on.
Five fire engines and two ambulances came to the pilot’s aid as the EasyJet flight landed in Edinburgh and the captain was treated by paramedics, according to witnesses.
It’s not known what caused the captain’s illness.
The EasyJet flight from Crete to Edinburgh was forced to make an emergency landing after the captain fell ill and had to use the toilet in the early hours of Sunday morning – and passengers claim that the pilot didn’t re-emerge until they had landed (stock image)
One passenger told The Daily Record: ‘The captain had been seen going into the toilet and not coming out.
‘The very young looking co-pilot announced on the tannoy that the emergency response was due to the captain taking ill.
‘It is unknown if the captain returned to cockpit for landing, but he was not seen to do so.’
The airline confirmed that the flight made an emergency landing – but they didn’t comment on whether the captain remained in the toilet until landing.
An EasyJet spokesperson said: ‘EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY6938 from Heraklion to Edinburgh on 12 June requested an expedited landing due to the Captain becoming unwell while on approach to Edinburgh.
‘The First Officer landed the aircraft in line with standard operating procedures and the Captain was met by paramedics on arrival as a precaution.
‘The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.’
Edinburgh Airport declined to comment.
This comes as travel disruption continues across the UK – as the industry struggles to deal with staff shortages and post-pandemic holiday demand.
EasyJet has pre-emptively cut about 40 flights a day for the rest of this month to reduce further airport chaos for British holidaymakers as huge queues continued to affect passengers at Bristol, Manchester and Heathrow today.
Tourists flying with Britain’s biggest airline in recent weeks have had their flights cancelled just hours before take-off and found themselves stranded for days abroad with many having to return to the UK by road or rail.
A source at Gatwick said that the airport is being hit by a ‘meltdown every night’ due to air traffic control staff shortages – amid concerns the situation could worsen when demand surges again in the summer holiday.
Holidaymakers queue for check-in in the Jet2 area of Manchester Airport Terminal Two this morning