An Emirates Airbus A380 flying from Dubai to San Francisco diverted to London Heathrow on July 29 after a passenger suffered a medical emergency mid-flight.
The aircraft, operating as Flight EK225, was over Russia when the crew decided to turn toward Western Europe instead of continuing over the Arctic Circle.
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The flight had departed Dubai International Airport at 11:06 AM local time, nearly three hours behind schedule.
About six hours into the journey, the diversion began.
The double-decker plane, registration A6-EVH, made an unplanned 2,485-mile detour and landed at Heathrow at 7:20 PM local time, roughly 12 hours after leaving Dubai.
Airline Response
Emirates issued a statement confirming the diversion was due to a passenger medical emergency.
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Affected passengers were provided hotel accommodation and rebooked on the next available flights departing July 30.
The airline apologized for the inconvenience, emphasizing that safety of passengers and crew is paramount.
An Emirates spokesperson reiterated the safety commitment to Al Khaleej newspaper.
The aircraft, an eight-year-old Airbus A380-842, was delivered to Emirates in December 2018. It has a four-class configuration seating up to 484 passengers.
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After an overnight stay at Heathrow, the aircraft departed at 4:46 PM on July 30 to resume service.
