A plane flying from Halifax to St. John's was forced to turn around after the crew reported the pilot passed out and the co-pilot was forced to take over.

Ashley Barnes, a spokesperson for the Halifax International Airport Authority said a co-pilot brought Porter Airlines Flight 243 back to the airport safely around 11:45 a.m. on Saturday.

Barnes said the pilot, 39, was conscious when the plane landed.

"We had our emergency response team and ambulances on standby," she said. "The pilot happily walked off the plane into an ambulance and was taken to hospital for medical assessment."

There is no word yet on what caused the pilot to lose consciousness, or his current medical condition.

Porter Airlines president and CEO Robert Deluce said the pilot has recorded 7,000 hours of total flying time.

"The first officer who took charge was a 29-year-old pilot and has almost 4,000 hours of total flying time so they are both fairly experienced guys," said Deluce.

The Bombardier Q 400 plane has a maximum capacity of 70, but the actual number of passengers on board wasn't immediately available.

Porter brought in a replacement crew and the plane left for St. John's at about 1 p.m.

With files from The Canadian Press