Larnaca, Cyprus bound TUI Airways flight 1714 made an emergency landing on Sunday after pilot collapsed in the cockpit. The pilot collapsed after just 16 minutes in the air from Newcastle, England.
According to Sun.co.uk, passengers experience fright of a lifetime when they saw pilot collapsed in the cockpit. Passengers became anxious when they saw cabin crew heading to the cockpit with Oxygen tanks.
One of the passengers told the Sun that he was terrified when he peeped into the cockpit and saw coffee all over the floor.
“He was lying prostrate on the floor. It’s not what you want to see happening at the front of the plane.” He said
In a bid to save the life of the pilot and the passengers, the flight was diverted to Sofia Airport in Bulgaria where the pilot was taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatments.
“We can confirm that as a result of one of our pilots feeling unwell, the decision was taken to divert the Newcastle to Larnaca, Cyprus, flight last night. A priority landing was requested at Sofia, Bulgaria, which was the closest airport and the pilot was taken to a nearby hospital to be assessed,” a TUI Airways official told Metro.co
“We would like to thank all of our customers for their patience and we are working to get them on their holiday as quickly as possible. The welfare of all customers and crew travelling with us is our priority at all times.”
All the passengers were taken to a nearby hotel before continuing their journey the next day to Cyprus. Although some of the passengers took to social media to express their dissatisfaction over lack of information by the airline.
Stuck @ Sofia airport after plane diverted from Newcastle…..anyone know what’s happening @ThomsonHolidays
— Alison Wilkinson (@alwjcw) October 8, 2017
Yeah we are stuck in Sofia – Bulgaria for the night! Don’t know anything about the return flight back though
— Hannah Foxcroft (@hvfoxcroft) October 8, 2017
