Shannon Airport has dealt with two further emergency diversions since operations were brought to a standstill for over two hours this morning when the crew of a cargo flight used an emergency slide to evacuate their aircraft on the runway.
In the latest incident, an American Airlines flight from London to Phoenix in the U.S. diverted to Shannon this afternoon. Flight AA-195 departed Heathrow Airport at around 12.20pm and was about three hours into its journey when the crew turned around and diverted to Shannon.
The Boeing 777-200 jet landed safely at 5.36pm but was met by airport fire and rescue vehicles as a precaution when the pilot confirmed they would be making an overweighting landing. There were 183 passengers and crew on board.
National Ambulance Service paramedics were also dispatched to the airport.
Earlier, the crew of an Air France flight from Paris to Chicago declared an emergency over the North Atlantic also reporting they had a passenger on board who required medical assistance.
Flight AF-136 landed at Shannon at 3.41pm and was also met by airport fire and rescue crews. Emergency vehicles remained with the Airbus A350-900 jet as it was directed to a remote stand where an ambulance was waiting. The ill passenger was transported by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.
That flight resumed its journey at 5.45pm.
Shortly before 7.00am today, operations were brought to a standstill at Shannon for over two hours after the airport’s only operational runway was blocked by an aircraft that had made an emergency landing.
The crew of the cargo flight evacuated their jet on the runway after earlier declaring a Mayday over the Atlantic reporting a possible fire on board. The Cargolux Boeing 747-400(ER) landed safely however no evidence of fire was found.
Two flights were forced to divert to Cork Airport as a result but returned to Shannon soon after operations resumed.
