Virgin Atlantic flight declares emergency above UK in 'serious medical incident'

Virgin Atlantic flight declares emergency above UK in 'serious medical incident'A Virgin Atlantic flight from Los Angeles to London declared an emergency as it entered British airspace due to a reported medical incidentCommentsNewsEliana Nunes News Reporter10:08, 21 Apr 2026Updated 10:37, 21 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesVirgin Atlantic Airbus A350-1000 declared a general emergency (file)(Image: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)A Virgin Atlantic flight from Los Angeles has declared an emergency while entering British airspace.‌The crew of the Airbus A350-1000 issued a Squawk 7700 - the international code for a general emergency - while cruising at 39,000 feet due to a "serious medical situation" involving a passenger on board, according to reports..‌The aircraft made an expedited descent towards London Heathrow Airport, AirLive reports. The aircraft had departed Los Angeles International Airport at 3.41pm on Monday and landed at Heathrow Terminal 3 at 10.06am on Tuesday - around 10 minutes earlier than scheduled, flight-tracking data show.‌The pilots informed air traffic control who granted the flight priority landing. The aircraft initiated a rapid descent to the airport, where it is understood that emergency services and ground crews waited. Virgin Atlantic has not released a statement regarding the incident.Virgin Atlantic is Britain’s second-largest carrier, offering various transatlantic routes to and from London Heathrow and destinations including New York, Orlando, the Caribbean, Delhi and Johannesburg. The company is headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, around 2.5 miles from Gatwick Airport station.‌It comes after a Jet2 flight from London to Tenerife faced an emergency after a baby fell ill on board.View 2 ImagesA Jet2 flight from London was given priority landing at Tenerife South after a baby experienced breathing difficulties(Image: Getty )The incident took place aboard Jet2 flight EXS2V from London Stansted to Tenerife South on Saturday. A...