Flight returns to London after passenger and crew 'medical emergency'
An American Airlines flight to Los Angeles returned to London after a number of passengers and crew fell ill on board.
According to one passenger on board, "seven of the 13 crew and many passengers" suffered a loss of equilibrium.
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The flight was close to Keflavik, Iceland, when it returned to London, and was met by paramedics as it touched down at Heathrow.
British passenger Lee Gunn tweeted about the situation:
Several crew and several passengers suffering with equilibrium, scheduled time of arrival in LHR is 5pm @flightradar24
— Lee Gunn (@gunn_lee) January 27, 2016
Speaking to the Mirror, he said: "About 2.5 hours into the flight just as we were passing Iceland we had a Tannoy announcement asking for any doctors, nurses or medical professionals on board to report to the boarding doors to assist with unwell passengers.
"The lights then came on in the cabin and there was lots of commotion."
AirLive.net also tweeted about the incident, saying the flight landed safely at Heathrow five hours after it took off.
UPDATE We have confirmation #AA109 safely landed runway 27L at London Heathrow after reporting medical emergencies https://t.co/JGLJbr3Xqd
— AirLive.net (@airlivenet) January 27, 2016
A spokesman for the airline confirmed the flight had turned around after a medical emergency, telling the Daily Mail: "American Airlines Flight AA 109, a Boeing 777-300, operating to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) from London Heathrow, is returning to Heathrow due to a medical emergency.
"The aircraft departed London Heathrow at 1205 local time and is expected to land at Heathrow at 1700 local time. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience to their travel plans."
The paper adds that a loss of equilibrium during air travel occurs when "the air pressure in the middle ear fluctuates due to a change in altitude or imbalance in cabin air pressure".