The Airbus A350-1000, flying from Los Angeles to London Heathrow, declared an emergency while entering British airspace due to a ‘serious medical incident’ involving a passenger
A Virgin Atlantic flight from Los Angeles was forced to declare an emergency upon entering UK airspace. The crew of the Airbus A350-1000 issued a Squawk 7700 – the universal code for a general emergency – while cruising at 39,000 feet due to a “serious medical situation” involving a passenger on board, according to reports.
The aircraft is now making a swift descent towards London Heathrow Airport, as reported by AirLive. The plane had left Los Angeles International Airport at 3.41pm on Monday and touched down at London Heathrow at 10.06am on Tuesday – approximately 10 minutes ahead of schedule.
The pilots alerted air traffic control who granted the flight priority landing. The aircraft initiated a rapid descent to the airport, where it’s understood that emergency services and ground crews were on standby. Virgin Atlantic has yet to issue a statement regarding the incident.
Virgin Atlantic is the UK’s second-largest carrier, providing various transatlantic routes to and from London Heathrow and destinations including New York, Orlando, the Caribbean, Delhi and Johannesburg. The firm is based in Crawley, West Sussex, roughly 2.5 miles from Gatwick Airport station.
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