BA flight from LA to London declares mid-air emergency due to sick passenger

BA flight from LA to London gets ‘priority’ landing at Heathrow after sick passenger sparked mid-air emergency

  • Flight number BA268 was flying from Los Angeles having left LAX last night
  • But over Northern Ireland, the pilot alerted air traffic control to the passenger
  • British Airways said the pilot request priority landing into Heathrow today
  • The plane ‘landed normally’ at the London airport at 15:27, thirty minutes early

A British Airways flight from Los Angeles to London was forced into a priority landing after a sick passenger sparked a a mid-air emergency over Northern Ireland.

After the pilot alerted air traffic controllers of the situation, the plane was given ‘priority’  to land at London Heathrow on Wednesday afternoon.

It is currently unclear exactly what the passenger’s medical emergency was, and how the events unfolded.

Flight number BA268 was flying from Los Angeles having left Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at 21:46 local time on March 30.

Pictured: The flight path of BA268, which landed at Heathrow following a medical emergency

It was flying over Northern Ireland when the emergency was declared, and it landed at Heathrow at 15:27 local time – around half an hour before its scheduled arrival.

The pilot alerted controllers that there was an emergency underway by ‘squawking 7700’, the transponder code for a ‘general emergency’.

A British Airways spokesperson told MyLondon: ‘The plane has landed normally.

‘The pilot requested a priority landing into Heathrow as a precaution due to a customer requiring medical assistance.’

The MailOnline has contacted British Airways for further comment. 

Pictured: A British Airways plane lands at London Heathrow, file photo

Pictured: A British Airways plane lands at London Heathrow, file photo