Jakarta, Jul 21 (IANS): An aircraft of the Indonesian low-cost airline Citilink was forced to make an emergency landing on Thursday morning at Juanda International Airport in the Indonesian province of East Java after its pilot had a health emergency.

Citilink's President Director Dewa Kadek Rai confirmed the pilot who managed the landing died after being shifted to a nearby hospital, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said the QG307 flight which was flying to Ujung Pandang in South Sulawesi Province at around 6:00 a.m. local time (2300 GMT Wednesday) requested an emergency landing about 15 minutes after takeoff.

He extended condolences to the family of the pilot, saying that the body will be flown directly to the pilot's home in Jakarta for the funeral.

Citilink officers gave explanations to passengers and provided on-ground service for them before the flight for the same route departed again with the aircraft and entire crew replaced, according to the local media.