The captain of the Ryanair flight, flying almost 200 holidaymakers from Prestwick to Lanzarote, made the decision to divert

the flight to Cork in the Repuiblic of Ireland.

A cardiac specialist and a nurse who were among the passengers on the Boeing 737 helped the stricken holidaymaker before he was rushed to hospital.

The mid-air drama happened after the Ryanair flight had jetted out of Prestwick at 6.40am with almost 200 passengers on board.

It's believed a male passenger began complaining about chest pains after an hour.

The pilot then took the decision to divert to Cork where the plane landed shortly before 8.30am. The man was then taken by ambulance to Cork University Hospital.

An airport official said: "The pilot took the decision to land at Cork, which was 40 minutes away. As luck would have it, a cardio specialist and a nurse were on board."

The other passengers were kept on board. The holiday jet then took on extra fuel before flying out of Cork 45 minutes later to continue the journey to the Spanish holiday island.

Airline spokesman Stephen McNamara said: "The passenger disembarked to receive treatment before the aircraft travelled onwards to Lanzarote. Ryanair sincerely apologises for the short delay."