Friday, 13th December 2024

Ill passenger sees St Kitts and Antigua flight to London land in Spain

Passengers being looked after, British Airways have said

Thursday, 18th May 2017

A London-bound flight from St Kitts' Robert L Bradshaw airport has landed in Spain after a passenger became ill.

British Airways flight 2256, which travelled via Antigua's VC Bird International Airport on the way to Gatwick, landed on Terceira Island, off Portugal, before going on to Barajas International Airport in Madrid, Spain.

Terceira is an island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean.

The flight arrived in Spain just before 1pm local time, which was around the time it should have been in the British capital.

According to the latest information, the flight should arrive in London at 8pm (local time).

'Let customers down'

A spokesman for British Airways confirmed that the diversion was necessary after a passenger appeared to show signs of illness.

"We offered customers lunch vouchers to help with the wait after we diverted the aircraft to get medical help for an unwell customer," she said.

"We are sorry for the delay and will get our customers to Gatwick as soon as we can."

But a number of passengers that were on the flight are unhappy with how they have been treated.

Graham Fraser, who is in a group of six returning from Antigua, complained that many are tired after being awake for 36 hours.

"[We've] been in Madrid since 12pm,  still waiting to board. Given no information until someone complained about an hour ago," he said.

"Voucher for food was a waste of time as food was inedible. BA have let the customers down with no information."