A Boeing 737-800 operated by Smartwings for Eurowings made two unscheduled landings before reaching its final destination.
The incident involved flight EW981, the return flight from the Egyptian resort of Hurghada to Cologne (Germany) on April 13th. The Boeing 737, registered OK-TSU, had landed in Hurghada that day around 11:45 AM local time after a four-hour flight from the German city. The plane would depart for its return flight to Cologne an hour later according to schedule.
The first unscheduled landing of the Boeing 737 occurred an hour and a half after takeoff in Heraklion (Crete) due to a medical emergency on board. According to a Eurowings spokesperson speaking to aeroTELEGRAPH, the passenger in question received immediate treatment at Heraklion Airport and was transferred to medical care.
The aircraft took off again at 7:30 PM after a two-hour delay in Heraklion. However, instead of flying directly to Cologne, the Boeing 737 had to make another landing. This time in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. A spokesperson explained that this second stopover was necessary to avoid exceeding the maximum permitted working hours for the crew.
In Zagreb, passengers received food and drinks. After a two-hour stop in the Croatian capital, the flight resumed at 10:45 PM. The Boeing 737 finally reached its destination of Cologne at 0:15 AM, with a total delay of six hours and fifteen minutes.
