Iberia flight from Buenos Aires to Barcelona makes emergency landing in Gran Canaria for infant in critical condition

An Iberia plane on flight IB2602 from Buenos Aires to Barcelona had to make an emergency landing at Gran Canaria airport during the early hours of Wednesday because a baby was found on board in critical condition, according to the Spanish Air Traffic Controllers on their Twitter profile. On land, an ambulance was waiting for the boy and his family to take them to the hospital.

The emergency occurred around 02:09 in the morning when the plane, an Airbus A330 with registration EC-NNH, was flying south of Fuerteventura at an altitude of about 38,000 feet. At that moment, after receiving a medical indication on board, the crew changed course and diverted towards Gran Canaria airport, where they arrived just 20 minutes later. The aircraft made the turn and went down in a very short time, so the rapid descent to the ground manoeuvre surprised the passengers themselves and was praised by Air Traffic Controllers.

After evacuating the baby in critical condition, the aircraft remained on the ground for about an hour, leaving again at 03:30 in the morning for its destination. The aircraft had taken off from the Ezeiza International Airport, in Buenos Aires, at 13:09 local time and was expected to land at Barcelona-El Prat Airport at 05:30, but the emergency delayed the arrival by two hours, until 07:30 this Wednesday morning

As reported by Air Traffic Controllers, the child is in stable condition. The controllers of the Gran Canaria airport have congratulated the crew for a “super agile” diversion and descent manoeuvre and the airport for its “coordinating agility”. The crew, for their part, thanked the airport controllers and emergency services for their quick work.

Source: La Provincia