Latest: Passengers cleared by medics after flight makes emergency landing at Shannon Airport

A number of passengers were assessed at Shannon Airport by paramedics after a transatlantic flight made an emergency landing this morning.

Latest: Passengers cleared by medics after flight makes emergency landing at Shannon Airport

By Patrick Flynn

Update 12.45pm: A number of passengers were assessed at Shannon Airport by paramedics after a transatlantic flight made an emergency landing this morning.

Virgin Atlantic flight VS-50A made the emergency landing after the crew reported they had smoke on board.

The airline spokesman confirmed that an announcement was made at the airport to see whether any passengers wanted to see a paramedic.

She said: “Twelve people came forward and all of them then declined hospital treatment.”

It is understood the several more passengers presented themselves to be assessed.

After all passengers had been cleared by medics, a fleet of ambulances and response cars left the airport at midday after being officially stood down.

The passengers continued their journey to Gatwick on board a replacement aircraft that departed shortly after 3pm.

Earlier: Flight makes emergency landing at Shannon Airport following report of smoke on board

A transatlantic flight has made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport this morning after the crew reported they had smoke on board.

Virgin Atlantic flight VS-50A was travelling from Orlando, Florida in the US to Gatwick Airport in England at the time. The Airbus A330-300 jet was about an hour west of Ireland when the crew declared a MayDay and requested permission to divert to Shannon.

In the meantime, authorities at Shannon implemented an emergency plan which involved alerting the local authority fire service, HSE and Gardaí.

Units of the fire brigade from Shannon Town were sent to the airport while two additional appliances from Ennis were mobilised to a designated holding point off the M18 near Dromoland. A number National Ambulance Service resources and Garda units also attended at the airport.

The flight landed safely at 7.21am and taxied to the terminal building accompanied by emergency vehicles.

There were 194 passengers and 13 crew on board. The passengers were disembarked and taken to the airport’s transit lounge where they will await the arrival of a replacement aircraft which is expected later today.

Fire crews later boarded the aircraft to carry out an inspection while engineers were also called to check the jet for the source of the smoke

An airline spokeswoman said: “Our flight diverted to Shannon as a precautionary measure after reports of smoke onboard.

"The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we’re now doing all we can to get our customers to their final destination as quickly as possible. We'd like to apologise to our customers for the disruption to their journey and thank them for their patience."

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