A flight from Manchester, England, bound for the island of Kefalonia in the Ionian Islands, was forced to make an emergency landing in Crete due to extreme weather in western Greece.
The five-crew-member airplane was carrying 83 passengers, all of whom were in good health. The aircraft had taken off on Sunday evening from the city of Manchester and was scheduled to land in Kefalonina.
However, the captain decided to change the flight path, diverting it to the Daskalogiannis airport of Chania, Crete, a little after 10 pm due to extreme weather conditions on the Ionian island.
Upon landing in Chania, the passengers and crew of the plane were safely transferred to hotels where they stayed the night. They are expected to depart for their initial destination later on Monday.
Heavy rainstorms and strong winds swept across Greece’s Ionian islands of Zakynthos and Kefalonia on Sunday, September 28, causing widespread disruption to air travel and road networks.
According to the National Observatory of Athens’ Meteo service, rainfall reached 113.8 mm in Zakynthos, the highest recorded in the region that day. The downpour led to canceled and delayed flights, as well as road closures due to flooding and debris.
