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At least two people were injured on an EasyJet flight from Corfu to London after severe turbulence struck the flight, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing.
The British airline’s Airbus A320 departed from Corfu airport in Greece at 12:44 local time on Monday and was en route to London Gatwick with 181 passengers and crew on board.
But after just 20 minutes of flying, the easyJet plane was hit by turbulence while flying at 780 km/h at an altitude of 8,500 metres.
Two cabin crew members, who were preparing food for passengers, were thrown against the sides of the plane. They were so badly injured that the pilots decided to make an emergency landing at Rome’s Fiumicino airport so they could receive medical attention quickly.
At least two people were injured on an easyJet flight from Corfu to London
Flight tracking data showed the plane deviating from its flight path and landing at an airport near Rome
Passengers were greeted upon landing in Rome by easyJet crew and airport staff, who provided immediate assistance.
The injured flight attendants received immediate medical attention, while a replacement crew and aircraft were arranged so passengers could continue their flight to London Gatwick on Monday afternoon.
The aircraft involved in the incident remained parked in Rome for security checks the day after the incident.
An easyJet spokeswoman confirmed the incident in a statement, saying: ‘On 19 August, there was turbulence during the flight which unfortunately resulted in two cabin crew being injured.
‘The captain therefore decided to divert the flight to Rome, where the cabin crew received medical assistance.
‘The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority. Our pilots are trained to deal with turbulence.’
Meanwhile, Italy’s aviation authority ANSV announced that it had opened an investigation into the incident to determine whether the turbulence was a sudden and unforeseen event (also known as “clear air turbulence”) or whether it was visible on the plane’s weather radar but underestimated by the pilots.
“Given the type and severity of the reported injuries, we have opened a safety investigation and classify the incident as an ‘accident’,” the ANSV said in a press release. However, investigators will still have to clarify why the pilots chose to divert to Rome instead of the nearest airports of Bari or Brindisi.