The flight from Greece to Edinburgh made a successful emergency landing.

An easyJet flight has made an emergency landing after the captain onboard became ill. The flight managed to make a successful emergency touchdown at Edinburgh Airport, and there were no injuries suffered by any passengers onboard. Let's look into what happened on the flight in question.

In the early morning of Sunday, June 12, easyJet flight 6938 was operating from Heraklion Airport (HER) on the Greek island of Crete, flying to Edinburgh Airport, Scotland. The flight was operated by one of the airline's A320 aircraft registered G-EZTK. The flight, although due to depart at 21:20 on Saturday, was delayed, eventually departing the Greek airport at 22:48.

According to reports, as the flight entered its final stages as it began its descent and approach to Edinburgh Airport, the captain came out of the flight deck and entered the toilet at the front of the passenger cabin. However, passengers onboard the flight reported that he did not return to the flight deck, remaining in the bathroom until after landing. This, however, has not been confirmed by the airline.

The first officer on the flight selected 7700 on the aircraft's transponder (indicating that the flight was facing an emergency and requiring immediate assistance) and requested a priority landing at the Scottish airport. The plane touched down at 01:16 early on Sunday morning and was met by five fire appliances and two ambulances as a precaution.

Upon landing, the first officer announced to the passengers that the emergency response was due to the captain being taken ill.

Commenting on the incident, an easyJet spokesperson said,

"easyJet can confirm that flight EZY6938 from Heraklion to Edinburgh on June 12 requested an expedited landing due to the captain becoming unwell while on approach to Edinburgh. The First Officer landed the aircraft in line with standard operating procedures, and the captain was met by paramedics on arrival as a precaution. The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always easyJet's priority."

The incident involving easyJet flight 6938, although perhaps unusual, is not uncommon. Pilots undergo extensive training to fly aircraft types on which they are qualified as single-pilot operation, meaning that just as with the small light aircraft on which they begin their flight training, all onboard systems and controls can be operated by either pilot from either seat.

In recent years, there have been several incidents involving pilot incapacitation. Just last year, an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 was forced to divert after one of the pilots became incapacitated during the flight.

Similarly, in June of 2021, an Air France flight returned to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport after the captain became unwell. In May 2020, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 777 flying from Frankfurt to Chicago diverted to Moncton after the first officer became unfit to fly.

Probably the most famous incident involving pilot incapacitation was British Airways flight 5390 in 1990. Simple Flying reported on this extraordinary event with a remarkable outcome just last month.

In an incident that involved a cockpit window falling out due to the wrong size of screws being inserted to hold it in place during maintenance, the captain of the BAC 1-11 was partially sucked out of the aircraft. Thanks to the quick thinking of a crew member, who held on to the captain's legs while the first offer made an emergency landing at Southampton Airport, the captain's life was saved.

Keep up to date with all the latest news in commercial aviation with Simple Flying.

Thankfully, in this latest pilot incapacitation case, no significant injuries were reported, and the aircraft involved returned to service almost immediately. Yesterday the plane operated rotations from Edinburgh to Naples, Berlin, and Birmingham, and today has already operated to Amsterdam and, at the time of writing, is heading towards the Greek island of Rhodes.

All at Simple Flying would like to wish the captain of easyJet flight 6938 our best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery.

Journalist - Working for several airlines & Airbus, Luke gained a comprehensive knowledge of the commercial aviation industry, before retraining as a lawyer specializing in aviation. A qualified private pilot, Luke also helps to keep one of the world's last WWII Catalina flying boats airworthy. Based in Cambridge, UK.