by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 12:55 PM ET, Wed February 4, 2026
A flight from Lanzarote to Manchester, England had declared an emergency after one of the pilots was “incapacitated” during the flight.
The Jet2 Flight LS980 departed from Lanzarote at 3:45pm GMT on Tuesday, February 3, according to the Mirror. Yet Air Traffic Control was notified of a medical issue with one of the pilots around 25 minutes prior to landing in Manchester, the flight’s original destination.
According to Manchester Evening News, the other pilot sent a squawk 7700 general emergency code. Since planes all have at least a captain and a first officer, the plane was able to land safely and there were no disruptions to service.
Emergency services were on the scene waiting at the airport when the plane landed to respond to the pilot and provide medical care.
"Flight LS980 from Lanzarote to Manchester requested a priority landing yesterday evening, due to one of the pilots feeling unwell,” a spokesperson for the airline told local news. “The aircraft landed safely and customers disembarked as normal."
Jet2 is a British air carrier which flies to over 70 destinations around Europe from Manchester Airport. The airline flies up to four flights between the airport and the popular island of Lanzarote each day.
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