Spanish air traffic control on alert: emergency landings

Two separate emergency landing incidents occurred in Spain. The air traffic controllers as well as airport authorities had to respond quickly.

Sunday, August 3rd, a flight from Barcelona bound for Essaouira in Morocco made an unexpected landing in Malaga. The passenger was pregnant and needed urgent medical treatment. According to Spain’s Air Traffic Controllers, (@controladores), on X, an aircraft already over Moroccan airspace was granted a diversion priority to Malaga. Air traffic controllers helped the aircraft make a continuous descent with a direct landing on runway 12 and they cleared all other traffic so that a safe and rapid landing could be made. While medical assistance was coordinated at the ground level, the plane safely landed within 20 minutes. The air traffic controllers wished for a safe birth and thanked all crews via their X accounts.

On July 5, a Ryanair Boeing 737 traveling from Malaga, Spain to London Stansted, England declared an emergency because of a possible indication of fire in the landing gear. Enaire’s Madrid control center was alerted and the flight diverted to Madrid Barajas Airport. 

The controllers of the air traffic managed to give a direct route and a descent that was continuous, as well as an approach on runway 18R. Barajas activated emergency protocols on the ground, temporarily suspending other takeoffs or approaches on certain airport runways. Firefighters escorted the aircraft on landing and confirmed that there was no fire. The plane was allowed to leave the runway, and normal operations could resume.

Ryanair confirmed that the alert had been triggered by a faulty indicator. Engineers examined the aircraft and confirmed that there were no problems. The airline provided a replacement flight to passengers that left at 3.39pm with a slight delay of 80 minutes.