A Lufthansa plane performing a flight between Frankfurt and Bengaluru had to make an unscheduled landing in Turkey due to a medical emergency. The aircraft was stranded at the airport for more than 24 hours before it could depart for its eventual destination.

Diverted to Istanbul

Lufthansa flight LH754 is a scheduled service between Frankfurt (FRA) and Bengaluru (BLR) in South India. The airline deploys a Boeing 747-400 on the route, with a scheduled departure of 13:05 and an arrival time of 01:25. The flight time is a little over 8 hours.

On October 18th, the aircraft departed Frankfurt behind schedule at 13:55. As it settled for its journey ahead at a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet and was passing over the Black Sea in Turkish airspace, a medical emergency onboard forced it to turn back and head towards Istanbul.

According to FlightRadar24.com, the 747 (registered D-ABVX) landed in Istanbul (IST) at 18:55 local time.

Stranded for more than 24 hours

According to reports, passengers of the diverted flight began to get restless as the stopover took more time than expected. One of the passengers told Deccan Herald that “there was no official communication from Lufthansa for almost 30 hours,” following which they were told that the delay was due to a technical issue. She added,

“There are mothers travelling alone with the infants, elderly couples who can’t walk, don’t understand or talk in English or Kannada. There are people here with no access to their medicines."

The nature of the medical emergency was not made public, but reports suggest that it required the flight crew to use oxygen cylinders on the aircraft, and this was the reason cited by Lufthansa for the additional delay.

In a statement, the airline mentioned,

“For safety reasons, the oxygen cylinders used to treat the medical emergency must be replaced before continuing the flight. Unfortunately, this (took) more time than originally expected. The flight continuation from Istanbul to Bangalore is now scheduled for 8 pm local time Wednesday (October 19). Lufthansa deeply regrets the circumstances and is doing everything to minimise the inconveniences for its passengers.”

Medical emergencies

Medical emergencies, while uncommon, can alter the schedule of flights. While the airline crew is trained to handle emergency cases during a flight, a diversion is required for serious cases.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine says that around one in every 600 commercial flights will have some sort of medical encounter during the journey. While the number seems insignificant, it still stacks up to around 44,000 flights per year worldwide.

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Such emergencies can range from mild to more serious ones, for which protocols are in place. Flight crew are also trained to administer first aid, but the seriousness of the case dictates whether the flight can continue to its destination or has to make an unscheduled stop.

If you’re wondering what happens during a medical emergency on a flight, Simple Flying has looked at it in detail.

What are your views on this? Please leave a comment below.

Source: Deccan Herald

• 

  Lufthansa

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  LH/DLH

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport

  Year Founded:

  1953

  Alliance:

  Star Alliance

  Airline Group:

  Lufthansa Group

  CEO:

  Carsten Spohr

  Country:

  Germany