An emergency plan was implemented in Shannon Airport yesterday when an aircraft carrying 169 holidaymakers was forced to land with only one engine working.
Local hospitals were put on alert as the captain of the Austrian Lauda Air aircraft came in to land.
The twin-engine Airbus, which was travelling from Goose Bay, Canada, to Bari in Italy, landed safely and no injuries were reported, airport spokesman Mr Tom Fox said. "We got a call in Shannon at 10.45 a.m. to say that the captain was declaring an emergency.
"He had got an indicator light in the cockpit indicating that there was a problem."
The aircraft, which usually carries between 15 and 16 crew members, was 35 minutes away from Shannon when the mid-air emergency was declared and the captain shut down one of the engines.
"At that stage we had declared a full emergency," Mr Fox said.
"Eight fire engines - 25 to 30 fire personnel - were on standby at the airport. This comprised firefighters from the airport itself and from fire stations in Ennis and Limerick.
"There were also approximately seven or eight ambulances on standby and Limerick Regional Hospital had been put on alert," Mr Fox said.
The plane landed at 11.30 a.m. and all passengers disembarked through the aircraft's normal exits by 12 p.m.
After touching down, the aircraft was examined by Aer Lingus engineers.