On Thursday, October 1st, Emirates Airlines flight EK31 from Dubai to London Heathrow Airport was forced to declare an emergency and make an unscheduled landing at Frankfurt Airport in Germany.
EK31 flight was operated by an Airbus A380-800 aircraft with over 500 seats and took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB) at 07:30 UTC. The original plan was to fly for 7 hours and 20 minutes to reach London Heathrow Airport (LHR).
About six hours into the flight, while cruising at an altitude of 40,000 feet in European airspace, the flight crew transmitted emergency code 7700, which is an internationally recognized distress signal. Following the signal, the double-decker aircraft immediately started a rapid descent, deviating from its cruising altitude, and requested to divert to Frankfurt Airport (FRA).
To minimize the impact on the stranded passengers, the airline has arranged for a replacement segment of the flight, scheduled to depart from Frankfurt Airport (FRA) to London Heathrow Airport at 17:30 local time.
Emirates Airlines later confirmed the diversion, citing operational reasons for the decision.