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An EasyJet flight bound for Manchester made an emergency landing in Athens, Greece, after the pilot suddenly collapsed at the controls. Chaos erupted on board as cabin crew rushed to the cockpit, abandoning their drink carts and shouting for medical help. The cabin crew quickly set up a screen around the pilot, who was in a grave condition, before announcing that an emergency landing was necessary.
The co-pilot then took control and landed the plane at Athens airport, where paramedics and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac to provide urgent medical care to the stricken pilot.
Passengers lauded the co-pilot's heroic efforts, praising him with a "very big well done." The cabin crew also received accolades for their exceptional handling of the crisis, with passengers describing them as "fantastic."
A passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, recounted to the Manchester Evening News that about two hours into the flight, they sensed something was amiss. At the time, cabin crew were serving drinks when they suddenly rushed to the cockpit, where a man had collapsed, sparking a frantic response.
"At first we thought this may have been a passenger as nothing much was being said other than the screams asking if anyone is medically trained, where a few passengers got up and assisted the cabin crew," one passenger told the Manchester Evening News.
They added, "The following call was from the cabin crew to advise this was the captain/pilot who was seeking medical attention and has fallen unwell and we again would be further updated with what was going to happen. At this point, the passengers were starting to get rather worried and anxious including myself knowing that it was a pilot and not the passenger."
An EasyJet spokesman said: "EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY2252 from Hurghada to Manchester yesterday evening was diverted to Athens due to the Captain requiring medical assistance. The First Officer performed a routine landing in accordance with standard operating procedures and the aircraft was met by paramedics on arrival in Athens."
"As a result the onward flight was delayed overnight and passengers will continue their journey to Manchester today. We did all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption and arranged hotel rooms and meals where available. We would like to apologise to passengers for the inconvenience caused and thank them for their patience and understanding."
The pilot's current condition remains undisclosed. Meanwhile, passengers were accommodated in hotels overnight and were able to rebook their return flights for Sunday, February 9.