A Jet2 flight from Tenerife to Birmingham was forced to make an emergency landing in Portugal after the pilot reportedly suffered a heart attack mid-flight.
The aircraft, carrying around 220 passengers, diverted to Porto and landed at 2.11am on Friday.
Passengers described scenes of panic onboard as cabin crew rushed through the aisles asking whether there was a doctor on board.
Children were reportedly crying as the plane descended for the emergency landing, while another passenger said they woke from sleep to find the crew “visibly upset”.
Emergency services boarded the aircraft after it touched down at Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport in Porto, where medics treated the pilot on the runway.
Jet2 later flew a replacement pilot out from Manchester to take customers back to the UK.
But passengers were reportedly left waiting for around 13 hours at the airport before being flown home.
One passenger told The Sun: “We were stranded in Portugal for over 13 hours without accommodation. They wouldn’t let us off the plane itself for over an hour.
“Then we were just left to wander around. There was nowhere to stay. They said accommodation was too expensive.
“The airline told us the pilot had suffered a heart attack in the cockpit. We have full sympathy for him of course.”
Jet2 told the newspaper: “Flight LS1266 from Tenerife to Birmingham diverted to Porto on Thursday (21st May), due to one of the pilots feeling unwell.
“At no point was safety compromised, and customers subsequently continued their journey.
“We would like to apologise to customers for this unforeseen delay.”
