A US-bound private jet has diverted to Shannon Airport after a passenger on board was reported to have fallen ill.
The Gulfstream V jet departed Le Bourget Airport, Paris at 12.40pm and was about an hour into its journey when the crew declared a medical emergency. There were seven crew and passengers on board the flight which was operating to a destination in the United States.
The corporate jet, operated by GlobalAir Charters and using the callsign Globaljet 2226, was routing south of Ireland when the crew requested clearance to divert to Shannon.
The flight rerouted to Shannon Airport where authorities had been notified of the unscheduled arrival. The National Ambulance Service was also notified and requested to mobilise paramedics to the airport.
When the flight crew confirmed they would be ‘landing heavy’, they were informed that airport fire crews would be mobilised to meet the aircraft in accordance with local safety procedures.
This is a standard precautionary measure at Shannon if an aircraft is expected to make an overweight landing.
Shannon Airport Fire Service was alerted and appliances mobilised to holding points adjacent to the runway.
The flight landed safely at 2.13pm and was followed along the runway to its parking position by airport fire crews who remained with the aircraft for a time.
The patient was accessed at the airport before being transferred by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for further treatment.
The aircraft was later moved to another parking area and is not likely to continue its journey this evening.
Meanwhile, two other aircraft diverted to Shannon Airport this afternoon as a result of poor visibility at Dublin Airport.
Aer Lingus flight EI-165 from London and Corendon Airlines flight CND-923 from Toulouse, believed to a rugby charter, diverted to Shannon after holding for a time south of Dublin Airport.
