A TRANSATLANTIC PASSENGER jet diverted to Shannon Airport early today after the crew declared a medical emergency.

Air France flight AF-345 was travelling from Montreal, Canada to Paris in France when shortly after 2:30 am, while the flight was about 45 minutes west of Ireland, the flight crew made contact with air traffic controllers in Ireland and given their routing through Irish airspace.

A short time later however, the crew made radio contact with controllers again and advised them they had a medical emergency on board.

The flight crew told controllers that they had a passenger who had suffered a suspected heart attack and requested permission to divert to Shannon Airport and was cleared to do so.

The crew requested medical assistance to be available to them on arrival. Airport authorities were advised of the diversion while the National Ambulance Service was alerted and requested to mobilise resources to the airport.

It’s understood the patient was a male in his 60s.

As the crew confirmed they would be making an overweight landing, Shannon Airport’s Fire and Rescue Service was notified and placed on standby as a precaution.

This is standard procedure at Shannon as an airplane’s braking system can overheat during such a heavy landing.

The Airbus A350-940 jet landed at 3:14 am and taxied to the terminal where ambulance paramedics were standing by to board the aircraft. The passenger was removed to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.

The flight continued its journey to Paris at around 4:30 am.

In May of this year, an Air France flight diverted to Shannon after a crew member was reported to have fallen ill. The patient was transported to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.