British Airways flight number 273 from London, U.K., to San Diego, Calif., was diverted to Winnipeg after a crew member experienced a medical emergency.
The Boeing 747 aircraft landed in Winnipeg just after 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Airport employees told Global News that medical crews were on the scene for over an hour.
Richardson Airport spokesperson Tyler McAffee said he got the notice on his social media before their team had time to communicate the situation internally.
McAffee said there are first responders at the aiport 24/7, but for this situation city paramedics would be called to transport the person to the hospital.
“Before the plane touches down we have a pretty good idea of what’s going on and what the symptoms are of the person, to make sure we have the right person to respond.”
“It’s not uncommon to get diversions to Winnipeg but a bigger plane like this is rare,” said MacAfee.
It’s not uncommon for WestJet or Air Canada planes to get diverted to Winnipeg, he added.
“If you look at where the major airports are in North America, and where the population centres are in North America, and then you start to connect the dots, you see that a lot of them go close to Winnipeg.”
The plane was taxied to the de-icing station after the onboard medical situation was sorted out.
The flight departed Winnipeg en route to San Diego at 7:47 p.m., making the delay almost three hours.
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