Multiple outlets reported that a Southwest Airlines red-eye flight departing Maui’s Kahului Airport for Las Vegas on July 5 declared an in-flight emergency roughly 90 minutes into the flight and diverted to Honolulu. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 landed safely at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport with no injuries reported among passengers or crew.
- Southwest Flight WN139 departed Kahului (OGG) around 8:40 p.m. HST on July 5 and made a U-turn over the Pacific at approximately 32,000–32,500 feet before diverting to Honolulu
- The flight crew declared a 7700 transponder code — the universal aviation emergency signal — prompting air traffic control to give the flight priority handling and emergency crews to stage at Honolulu as a precaution
- No injuries were reported among passengers or crew, and the aircraft remained on the ground in Honolulu following the diversion
- Southwest confirmed the diversion was caused by a passenger suffering a medical issue, adding that it does not share additional details about customer medical events (Azcentral)
- Southwest arranged an extra flight from Honolulu to Las Vegas for affected passengers, though the airline noted that positioning a crew and aircraft in Hawaii can take time (Azcentral)
Sources
- Hoodline: Maui Red-Eye Makes Wild Pacific U-Turn, Lands Vegas Crowd In Honolulu
- Azcentral: Southwest Boeing 737 MAX 8 emergency. Why the flight was turned around
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