A transatlantic flight diverted to Dublin Airport this morning after a passenger was reported to have suffered a stroke.
Delta Air Lines flight DL-444 was about five hours into its journey from New York to Rome when the flight crew declared a medical emergency off the Irish south coast.
At around 10am, when the Airbus A330-300 was about 250 kilometres south of Cork, the flight crew declared a medical emergency and advised air traffic controllers that they wished to divert to Dublin.
The crew had been in radio contact with controllers at the Irish Aviation Authority’s North Atlantic Communications Centre at Ballygirreen in Co Clare at the time.
The crew reported they had a male passenger in his 60s on board suffering from a suspected stroke.
It’s understood there was a medical doctor on the flight who assessed and treated the man while the crew also sought advice from medical professionals on the ground about how best deal with the situation.
After communicating details of the man’s symptoms and condition to staff at the medical centre, the flight crew was advised to divert to Dublin and seek urgent medical assistance.
The crew was cleared by controllers to change course and route towards Dublin while on the ground, emergency medical services were alerted and placed on standby at the airport.
The flight landed safely in Dublin at 10.44am and was met by ambulance paramedics and airport operations staff. The man was removed to hospital for treatment.
The flight is expected to continue its journey later.
