Germanwings plane makes unscheduled stop in Venice after passenger suffers 'apprehension'

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A Germanwings plane was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Venice after a passenger and crew member suddenly became unwell.

Flight 03882 was flying from Hanover to Rome when it diverted to the Marco Polo airport in Venice, Italy, where passengers disembarked and were told to wait in the departure lounge.

Its scheduled time at Rome’s Fiumicino airport was delayed from 3.25pm local time to 8.45pm.

The incident comes less than two weeks after a Germanwings plane was deliberately crashed into the Alps by its co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, resulting in the death of all 150 people who were on board.

Eugenio Bartolini, a professor from Rome who was on the plane, was quoted by Il Messaggero as saying that a female passenger sitting in the row behind him needed assistance for what appeared to be "fear of flying" and "apprehension".

"We saw the plane gradually descending and then Venice’s lagoon appeared," he said.

"When the plane landed, the captain told us over the microphone, in English, that a crew member and passenger were unwell and so he decided to land at Marco Polo."

Medics arrived on board and attended to a woman sitting behind professor Bartolini.

"She told them that she was afraid, that she was very apprehensive. I know nothing about the crew member because they were in the cabin," he said.

Germanwings denied the situation was an emergency but confirmed the unscheduled stop in Venice.

"Two people, a passenger and a member of the crew, were struck by strong nausea and needed medical treatment," the company said in a statement.