Ryanair flight diverts safely after captain loses consciousness approaching Porto

“Ryanair was not available for comment at the time of publishing.”

Flight FR4587 landed safely on runway 17 at 08:35 local time with 137 passengers and six crew members onboard. After landing, it was towed off the runway due to its inability to move under its own power. The incident caused other arriving aircraft to divert or delay their approaches temporarily but operations returned to normal within about half an hour.

The affected aircraft remained grounded in Porto for nearly six hours before departing for Dublin later than scheduled. The delay also impacted subsequent flights involving this aircraft.

Such incidents are not unique in aviation. In February 2024, a Lufthansa Airbus A321 diverted to Madrid after its first officer fainted in flight while the captain was out of the cockpit. Similarly, in November 2022, a flydubai Boeing 737 diverted after its captain fell ill mid-flight.

Over the same weekend as this Ryanair incident, several flights at Portuguese airports faced disruptions due to planned strikes by ground handling staff seeking better wages and night shift compensation. However, these strikes were subsequently canceled following successful negotiations between unions and employers. Despite this cancellation, previous strike actions earlier in July and August had already caused delays and cancellations across Portuguese airports—including up to sixty UK flights expected each week according to Travel and Tour World (https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/portuguese-airports-strike-leads-to-cancellations-and-delays-affecting-uk-flights/).

The airline involved in this incident is part of Ryanair Group—a low-cost carrier founded in 1985—with major hubs at Dublin Airport, London Stansted Airport, and Milan Bergamo Airport. Eddie Wilson serves as CEO.

Unions representing ground handling workers at companies such as SPdH/Menzies organized recent strike actions affecting Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Madeira, Porto Santo, and Azores airports; with negotiations concluded successfully, no further strikes are expected through August.