A Jet2 flight travelling from Tenerife to Birmingham was forced to make an emergency landing in Portugal after one of the pilots reportedly became seriously unwell mid-flight. The incident happened on Thursday night aboard flight LS1266, which had departed from Tenerife South Airport bound for the UK.

According to passenger reports, the aircraft suddenly lost altitude while cabin crew urgently asked over the intercom whether any medically trained passengers were on board. Witnesses described scenes of panic inside the cabin as the Airbus A321 was diverted towards Porto.

The aircraft landed safely at Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport in Porto at around 2:10am local time, where emergency services were waiting on the runway. Medical teams boarded the plane immediately and treated the pilot before he was taken to hospital.

Passengers said they were later informed that he may have suffered a heart attack, although this has not been officially confirmed by Jet2, who have confirmed that the diversion took place because one of the pilots became unwell during the flight.

In a statement, the airline said: “At no point was safety compromised, and customers subsequently continued their journey.”

Passengers were reportedly left waiting in Porto for more than 13 hours before replacement crew arrived and the journey to Birmingham resumed. Some travellers complained about delays and a lack of accommodation during the unexpected stopover.