Emirates A380 plane damaged after unscheduled landing in Poland for ill passenger

Emirates flight EK222 from Dallas to Dubai was diverted to Chopin Airport, Warsaw, when a man had a stroke.

An Emirates Airline Airbus A380 aircraft is seen after landing at Chopin Airport in Warsaw. The plane damaged its wheel during landing and is waiting for repair. Jacek Turxzyk / EPA

DUBAI // An Emirates A380 damaged a wheel in an unscheduled landing at a Polish airport on Wednesday after a passenger became ill.

Emirates flight EK222 from Dallas to Dubai was diverted to Chopin Airport, Warsaw, when a 55-year-old Nigerian male passenger suffered a stroke.

“Subsequently, the aircraft faced a technical issue on ground,” an Emirates spokesman said. “Passengers and crew safely disembarked, and Emirates arranged a replacement aircraft to bring all passengers to Dubai.”

The flight had left Dallas at 12.39pm local time and landed in the Polish capital at 6.01am local time, damaging the wheel as it did so.

Przemysław Przybylski, a spokesman for Chopin, Poland’s biggest and busiest international airport, said: “The airline decided the plane needed to stay at the airport. The passengers disembarked and waited at the airport for a replacement aircraft, which had been dispatched from Milan.

“The replacement plane arrived in Warsaw at 1pm local time and departed at 2.20pm.”

The current condition of the man is unknown.