A Jet2 flight bound for Mallorca was forced to make an unscheduled landing at London Stansted Airport after declaring a medical emergency. The flight, LS257, departed from Leeds Bradford Airport at 4:40pm on Wednesday en route to Palma de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, according to aviation outlet AirLive.
Emergency declared mid-flight
The crew of the Boeing 737-800 transmitted a Squawk 7700 code—the international emergency code—while cruising at 37,000 feet, as shown by flight-tracking data. Air traffic control prioritised the flight and directed it to Stansted, where emergency services were placed on standby as a standard procedure. The aircraft landed safely at 5:50pm.
Impact on airport traffic
The incident comes as Manchester Airports Group, which owns Manchester, Stansted, and East Midlands airports, reported a 2.4% increase in passenger numbers in May compared to the previous year, largely attributed to tens of thousands of football fans travelling to European finals. In contrast, Heathrow Airport saw a 1.2% year-on-year decline in passenger numbers, with 7.1 million passengers in May. UK passenger numbers fell 1.9%, while Middle Eastern traffic dropped 31% due to the ongoing Iran war. However, this marked an improvement from April's 5.3% decline. Heathrow also recorded its busiest May day on May 22, with 262,000 passengers at the start of half-term holidays.
