A flight from Dubai to London declared a mid-air emergency and diverted to Frankfurt.

The Emirates flight EK31, which departed Dubai International Airport (DXB) at 11.25am local time on Thursday, issued a ‘squawk’ code 7700 - the code for a general emergency.

It diverted from its destination of London Heathrow to Frankfurt Airport.

The airline later confirmed this was due to a passenger on board suffering a medical emergency.

A spokesperson said: “Emirates can confirm that flight EK31 from Dubai to London Heathrow diverted to Frankfurt on 1 October due to a medical emergency involving a passenger onboard.

“Our cabin crew provided assistance during the flight, and medical support was arranged on arrival. The aircraft landed safely in Frankfurt, where the passenger disembarked to receive further medical attention.”

The flight was expected to continue its journey to London Heathrow at approximately 6pm local time.

“We apologise to customers for the delay. The health and safety of our passengers and crew is always our highest priority,” the spokesperson said.

An image of the plane’s flightpath shared by flight tracking site Flightradar24 showed it quickly changing its course as it headed to Frankfurt.

This is a developing news story and is being updated.