Incident on Virgin Atlantic flight forces return to Manchester from New York route
The Virgin Atlantic VS127 flight, bound for JFK, was turned around and landed back in Manchester after a customer ‘took ill’ on board and needed ‘immediate medical attention’
A New York-bound flight was forced to make an abrupt U-turn back to Manchester Airport just two hours after departure due to a medical emergency on board. The incident occurred on Monday (March 24) on Virgin Atlantic’s VS127 service.
The airline confirmed that the sudden diversion was due to a passenger falling ill. They said: “We’re sorry to advise that flight VS127 to New York has been required to return to Manchester Airport after a customer took ill inflight and needed immediate medical attention on the ground.”
The flight path reveals how the plane had flown west over Ireland and the Atlantic Ocean before the pilot made the decision to return to Manchester, touching down around 4.10pm on Monday March 24.
In a statement, Virgin Atlantic said: “We’re sorry to advise that flight VS127 to New York has been required to return to Manchester Airport after a customer took ill inflight and needed immediate medical attention on the ground.
“We appreciate this is unexpected, and we thank you for your patience and understanding while the customer receives the medical support they require.
“The airline assured passengers with onward connecting flights booked on the same ticket that their journey would be rebooked once the flight resumed.”
They apologised for any inconvenience caused by the delay.
A spokesperson from Virgin Atlantic added: “Due to a medical issue onboard, flight VS127 operating from Manchester to New York on Monday 24 March has returned to Manchester.
We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused to customers onboard and plan to resume the flight to New York as soon as possible.”
This comes after a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai was forced to divert to San Francisco because a pilot forgot their passport. the Boeing 787-9 embarked on an almost 14-hour flight from LAX airport on Saturday (March 22) just before 2pm.
The approximately 300-capacity aircraft climbed to 32,000ft and travelled for about one hour and 45 minutes before the crew turned around over the Pacific. American Airlines cited the reason for the diversion as a “crew-related issue”.
However, the aircraft turned around after one of the pilots realised he forgot his passport, Air Live reports. Flight UA198 landed in San Francisco and passengers were given $15 meal vouchers as a means of compensation.
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