SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - An international flight bound for Japan made an unexpected landing at the Yellowknife Airport Monday afternoon after reporting a medical emergency on board.

A passenger from an American Airlines Boeing 777 en route to Tokyo, Japan from Chicago, U.S., is taken off the plane on the Yellowknife Airport tarmac after the airline called in a medical emergency Monday afternoon. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo

The American Airlines flight 153, carrying 185 passengers and crew, was en route to Narita International Airport in Tokyo from O'Hare International in Chicago when it landed just after 2 p.m.

Airport manager Steve Loutitt said an American Airlines dispatcher reported a passenger had become ill and needed immediate medical attention. He said the airport only had 20 minutes to prepare as the massive Boeing 777 approached Yellowknife.

"Usually we have two to three hours," said Loutitt.

"It was a lot of phone calls to make in a short period of time to deal with the situation properly."

Airport firefighters were on site when the plane landed, along with an ambulance and other airport officials.

Firefighters brought the ailing male passenger off the plane in a wheelchair before putting him in the ambulance at the bottom of the stairs, which took him to Stanton Territorial Hospital. Loutitt said he couldn't comment on the nature of the man's illness.

He added the airport had to involve Canadian customs to permit the stricken passenger to leave the airport.

"(Customs does) have protocol for this type of situation," said Loutitt. "He does have to be cleared to enter the country."

After the passenger was taken to hospital, the plane was required to go through regular checks to make sure it was safe to take off again.

The huge plane sat on the tarmac in front of the airport for close to four hours, taking up three parking spots reserved for other planes. Loutitt said that required the airport to find additional space to park scheduled flights coming in.

"It took up quite a bit of real estate," he said.

A Boeing 777 200 series generally needs 8,200 feet of runway to take off, but the longest runway at the Yellowknife airport is 7,500 feet.

Loutitt said the plane was still able to take off, but the flight crew needed to make some adjustments first.

"The length of the runway means they aren't able to go totally full, so they need to make sure the fuel is adjusted accordingly if they have to," he explained.

"They have to do their weight checks to make sure the aircraft can ... take off, or if they are going to have to remove cargo. "

He said the plane left with a full load of cargo and all its remaining passengers at 5:45 p.m. after which resumed its flight to Japan.

Kay Lewis, CEO of Stanton Hospital, declined to comment on the status of the stricken passenger yesterday.