International Flight Forced to Return to Airport After Hours in the Sky When Pilot Becomes 'Unfit' to Fly

Passengers on a Swiss International Air Lines flight went on a journey to nowhere after one of the pilots operating the aircraft suddenly fell ill.

On Monday, flight LX66 left Zurich for Miami as scheduled. Two hours into the journey, the aircraft suddenly turned around about 300 miles off the French coast, according to a report.

"One of the pilots did not feel fully fit after starting the flight," an airline spokesperson told Business Insider. "As a precautionary measure, the cockpit crew decided not to continue the flight and instead returned to Zurich Airport."

The Airbus A330 carrying 123 passengers returned to Zurich after roughly 4 hours of being in the air. It landed in Zurich around 2:24 p.m. local time.

The passengers scheduled to travel to Miami on that flight were not the only ones who had their travel plans thwarted, as passengers scheduled to travel from Miami to Zurich on the same aircraft later that day also had their flight canceled.

"We have rebooked the affected passengers onto alternative connections and would like to sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused," the airline spokesperson said.

Swiss has further offered to reimburse passengers for hotel accommodations, taxi rides and other expenses until the next possible departure. They will also help passengers rebook flights free of charge, or cancel their trips and receive a full refund.