A TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT has returned to its airport of origin after initially diverting to Shannon Airport with an ill passenger.

Lufthansa flight LH-400 was travelling from Frankfurt, Germany to New York in the United States at the time with 270 passengers and a crew of 15 on board.

The Airbus A340-642 jet was about 300km northwest of Mayo when the crew declared a medical emergency and turned back. The flight was about two and a half hours into its journey at the time.

It’s understood that the ill passenger was travelling to the US with medical professionals accompanying them. When the passenger’s condition deteriorated, it was decided that the flight should divert and seek further medical assistance for the patient.

The crew later confirmed they wished to divert to Shannon Airport and requested clearance to jettison aviation fuel. This is a common procedure for aircraft with a fuel dumping facility when they need to bring their weight to within safe landing weight limits.

Authorities at Shannon were notified of the unscheduled arrival while the National Ambulance Service was also contacted and requested to deploy resources to the airport.

Shannon Airport’s own fire and rescue service was also alerted. Crews took up positions on taxiways adjacent to the runway ahead of the jet’s arrival. This is normal procedure at Shannon when an aircraft has dumped aviation fuel before landing.

The flight landed safely at 2:55pm and was pursued along the runway by airport fire crews who then accompanied the aircraft to the terminal. Airport authorities and ambulance paramedics were standing by for the flight.

The passenger was removed to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.

The onward flight to New York has since been cancelled and the aircraft has now returned to Frankfurt.

Earlier in the day, a Lufthansa City Airlines flight from Munich, Germany diverted to Shannon after two failed attempts to land at Dublin.

It’s understood the crew reported windshear on both approaches and opted to divert to Shannon. The flight returned to Dublin later.