British Airways flight from Johannesburg diverted to Barcelona due to medical emergency
British Airways has not yet provided an update on the passenger’s condition
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A British Airways plane was forced to divert to Barcelona on Sunday, after a medical emergency was declared on board.
Flight BA54 was flying from Johannesburg OR Tambo International (JNB) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) on 6 November 2022 when the incident occurred.
The plane was scheduled to arrive at London Heathrow at 7.45am, but was forced to divert to Barcelona El Prat Airport, arriving at around 6.30am, Aerotime reported.
Noticing that the flight had been diverted, a man tweeted British Airways’ official Twitter account, asking: “I was noticing that one of your flights that just landed diverted to Barcelona.
“They reported a general emergency. Do you know why?”
British Airways responded: “Hi David. BA54 was diverted due to a medical emergency.”
British Airways said in a separate comment to AeroTime that its “aircraft diverted to Barcelona to provide medical assistance to a customer”.
The Independent has reached out to British Airways for comment.
Medical emergencies leading to a diversion are not unusual for commercial airlines.
In June, a planeload of passengers found themselves stranded in Germany overnight after an easyJet flight crew made the decision to divert to Frankfurt Airport due to passenger illness.
Meanwhile an American Airlines plane was forced to divert after a pilot became ill and died during one 2015 flight.
Earlier this week, a video went viral showing a passenger punching a member of airline staff at Mexico City International Airport after missing her Emirates flight.
The video of the incident, which occurred on 1 November, showed the woman punching and kicking an Emirates employee before vandalising parts of the airport.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments