I was returning recently from Venice Marco Polo to Edinburgh airport with jet 2.com when at 10600 metres altitude the flight attendant asked that question that I thought you only hear in movies, “we have an emergency onboard, so if there is a doctor or nurse on this flight could you please let yourself be known to the cabin crew”, “ding, ding”, two people to the front of me reply and a woman heads to the back of the aircraft. As we were just passing Beauvais I said to my wife looks like we will be heading to Paris CDG.
The captain then announces that we will now be starting our descent into Paris CDG were emergency services will be waiting and will come onboard. Down we go for a very rapid descent landing 09L and taxied to the emergency services via the “follow me” car. A woman at the rear of the aircraft was taken off and her shocked daughter,baby grand-daughter and son inlaw followed. The aircraft had to file a new flight plan and refuel and an hour later we were on our way back to EDI. I don’t know the details of the ill passenger, but she was given the oxygen cylinder that is carried onboard.
An eventful flight indeed.
My question now is who pays for the landing at Paris CDG and the fuel that was taken? Is it a humanitarian agreement or an insurance issue?
By: Arabella-Cox - 19th October 2010 at 12:43
Thinking of Wawkrk’s account, I wonder if any of those ‘mob’ people actually asked if the woman who had the heart attack was ok. I suspect not.
The mention of the Sun newspaper says it all.
By: wawkrk - 17th October 2010 at 21:36
ATR72, no, I don’t at all think you were complaining. It just triggered a distant memory thats all.
By: KabirT - 17th October 2010 at 20:13
I have been in two situations when aircrafts had to land or turn back because of a passenger been taken seriously ill. Both instances were on domestic flights within India and both instances the airliner and crew took good care even though one of the flights to Bangalore (landed in Bhopal in central India) was eventually 5 hours late. Passengers in both instances were calm and in-fact ready to help in anyway.
wawkrk’s account was rather shocking, something out of a movie maybe!
By: ATR72 - 17th October 2010 at 19:50
That’s an interesting account wawkrk, I hope you don’t think I am complaining in anyway with my question, just curious as to how it all trades off. I am just glad the woman on our flight was treated without hesitation and with dignity.
By: wawkrk - 17th October 2010 at 19:24
Many years ago, my wife and I were on a flight from Larnaca to Manchester aboard a British Airtours Tristar.A passenger had a heart attack over Germany so we diverted into the old Munich airport. We had to eventually disembark but we could not go through into the terminal immediately because the airport was not prepared for our arrival, and, nobody was sure if we might go back onto the aircraft.We were directed into a hangar but it had plenty of seats prepared for us. Many low life passengers were angry and complaining and swearing and saying it was disgusting.After about 30 minutes, the Captain to his great credit, came to face the angry mob.(Why they were angry I cannot explain)
The Captain told us, he was very sorry but because of an earlier delay in Manchester, the flight crew would be out of hours so he could not continue the flight.Another crew had been dispatched from Manchester so we could do nothing else but wait.There was uproar. Then after about another 30 minutes, a door opened at the back of the hangar and some ladies brought in trolleys with sandwiches and drinks.The mob attacked the trolleys filling their bags and pockets so there was not enough left for us handful of humans.I felt so ashamed to be British. But, it became worse, the loudmouths in the mob called everybody together and proclaimed they were going to phone the Sun newspaper. It was terrible. After another wait, we were informed that a meal was being prepared in the restaurant and we could leave soon. Eventually the same door at the back opened and the mob ran towards the door en-masse.My wife and I continued sitting patiently. Another lady who was obviously in charge, walked past us to the other end of the hangar from the mob, she smiled and beckoned us to follow towards another door through to the restaurant. The were mob were aghast and started running, it was so dammed funny.
The meal which was steak and vegetables was great and obviously prepared at short notice for more than 300 pax. The airport did a great job but many were complaining about food for god’s sake. We were then allowed through into the terminal. We arrived back in Manchester about 12 hours late.
These days I pretend to be a foreigner.
By: cloud_9 - 16th October 2010 at 11:34
I suppose it very much depends on the situation…for medical diversions I am not too sure, but in the case of a passenger being rowdy/disruptive onboard which leads to the aircraft having to divert en-route, I believe that the airline will pay the necessary charges initially, but can then ask that the passenger pays for it if they persue it through the courts!
By: Tartan Pics - 16th October 2010 at 10:22
I had a similar experience a couple of years ago flying from Dubai to Glasgow on Emirates,same call over the tannoy and a sick child was taken to the rear we diverted rapidly to Hamburg. Being a nosy…em interested aviation enthusiast i asked one of the stewards about the logistics of a medical diversion, he reckoned they had to pay landing fees and fuel and whenever possible would try to divert to an airport the airline operate from and had handling agents at, saying diverting to an airport that they had no handling contract caused problems arranging for the fees and fuel to be paid, obviously the urgency of the incident comes first in the decision where to divert.
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October 15, 2010 at 11:30 am