A PASSENGER JET has been forced to divert to Dublin Airport after the crew declared an emergency over the Atlantic this afternoon.

The pilot reported a problem with the aircraft’s left side engine which they said had suffered a ‘surge’ and as a result needed to divert.

Norwegian Air Shuttle flight DY-7110 was travelling from Los Angeles in the US to Barcelona, Spain at the time. There were 331 passengers and crew on board.

The Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner jet was about 100 kilometres off the south-west coast when the crew declared an emergency at around 1.30pm.

The crew had been in radio contact with controllers at the Irish Aviation Authority’s North Atlantic Communications Centre at Ballygirreen in Co Clare when they reported an issue with the left side engine.

The pilot reported a ‘surge’ in the port engine and confirmed they wished to Dublin Airport despite being considerably closer to Shannon. At the time, the flight was 250 kilometres from Shannon and 420 kilometres from Dublin.

It’s understood the crew opted for Dublin to allow them time to burn off aviation fuel and go through their emergency checklists. The crew also confirmed to controllers they expected to make a ‘normal landing’ in Dublin.

Air traffic controllers cleared the crew of flight 7110 to route to Dublin with permission to descend at their own discretion. The crew declared an emergency by radio using the MayDay distress message and by transmitting an emergency squawk code on their transponder.

The flight landed safely at around 2.10pm and was met by airport fire and rescue crews who also accompanied the jet to the terminal.

“The safety and security of our customers and crew are of paramount importance,” an airline spokesman said.

“The aircraft is currently being inspected while our passengers remain onboard and will continue its journey if the aircraft is cleared to return to service.”