Pregnancy emergency forces diversion of Barcelona–Essaouira flight to Malaga

A Vueling aircraft operating a flight from Barcelona to Essaouira was forced to divert on Sunday morning and make an emergency landing at Malaga Airport in Spain after a pregnant passenger on board experienced a medical emergency requiring urgent care.

According to Spain’s air traffic control account on X (@controladores), the plane, which was flying over Moroccan airspace at the time, requested priority landing due to the health situation. «We facilitated a continuous descent and direct approach to runway 12, gave the aircraft landing priority, and rerouted other air traffic while coordinating with the airport to ensure the necessary medical assistance upon arrival», the account reported.

?❗️
The crew of the flight from Barcelona to Essaouira indicates that they have a pregnant passenger on board who requires urgent medical attention.
They request to divert with priority to #Málaga airport.

We facilitated a continuous descent… pic.twitter.com/zVLiVQD08D

— ?Controladores Aéreos ?? (@controladores) August 3, 2025

The emergency landing was successfully completed approximately 20 minutes after the distress call. Air traffic controllers concluded their message by wishing the mother and baby a swift recovery and thanking all crews involved for their cooperation.