German plane makes emergency landing in Bilbao after elderly passenger dies mid-flight

A German plane on its way to Hamburg from Gran Canaria with almost 200 passengers on board was forced to land in Bilbao on Sunday night, after the sudden death of one of the passengers.

The incident occurred mid-flight on 30 November. An elderly man is said to have suffered a heart attack, which prompted the pilot to head for Loiu. However, when the medical staff entered the plane, the man had already died, as airport and health sources told the media.

The incident occurred around 8pm. The plane, an Airbus 320 of the Eurowings company (a subsidiary of Lufthansa), had departed from Gran Canaria at 4.21pm. The flight was going smoothly until the passenger, who was travelling with his daughter, felt unwell.

The crew and some of the passengers tried to help the man, while the pilot followed the protocol and launched an emergency landing operation. The route between the Canary Islands and northern Germany passes relatively close to Bilbao, through Gipuzkoa, Navarre, Cantabria or the border with Asturias. This time, the pilot opted to divert to Vizcaya.

He alerted the tower and the controllers immediately activated the protocol followed in these cases, which allows an ambulance to access the runway to attend to the emergency. A helicopter was also mobilised, although it was not necessary in the end due to the tragic outcome. The controllers gave priority to the affected aircraft over other flights and shortened its route as much as possible so that it could land faster.

The plane landed at exactly 8pm. Although the medical staff acted quickly and performed a cardiac massage, they could not save the man's life.

The flight was disembarked. Time restraints did not allow for it to continue on its way to Hamburg, as the German airport closes before midnight. The responsible parties started looking for accommodation for the almost 200 passengers to spend the night.

This is not the first time that such an incident takes place in 2025. In March, around 150 British tourists flying between London and Gibraltar were forced to divert to Bilbao Airport when one of the passengers died of natural causes. He was accompanied by a private doctor due to the state of his health. The pilot tried to seek help in Loiu but it was too late. On that occasion too, the passengers spent the night in Vizcaya.