A man in his 60s has died after the flight on which he was travelling diverted to Shannon Airport this morning.

The man was a passenger on Royal Jordanian flight RJ-264 which was enroute from Chicago to Amman.

The Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner jet was about 200 kilometres northwest of Shannon when the crew advised controllers of their emergency.

The crew reported that they had a male passenger on board who was unresponsive and in need of "immediate medical attention."

Ambulance paramedics were waiting for the flight when it touched down shortly before 10am. The passenger was however pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

Gardaí were informed and are treating the matter as a "sudden death". The County Coroner has also been advised.

The man’s body was removed to University Hospital Limerick for a postmortem examination while efforts are now underway to contact the deceased’s family in Jordan.

The flight continued its journey at around midday.