A Qantas flight from Singapore to London has been pressured to make a sudden touchdown in Athens after a medical emergency required crew and passengers to carry out CPR.
It is the second time in underneath two weeks a world Qantas flight has needed to make an unscheduled touchdown after an Airbus A380 made an emergency touchdown in Azerbaijan on December 23 following a cargo smoke warning.
Both flights had been on the airways kangaroo route, which travels from Sydney to London.
It is known that on Monday a passenger fell critically sick and a medical emergency was declared when the flight was over Bucharest, Romania.
According to stories, the Airbus A380 was roughly 11 hours into its flight to London earlier than the emergency touchdown occurred.
A Qantas spokesperson advised NCA Newswire that the flight was diverted so a passenger may obtain emergency therapy.
“Our flight from Singapore to London made an unscheduled landing at Athens International Airport in Greece after a passenger become critically unwell on the flight,” the spokesman mentioned.
“Crew and passengers performed lifesaving first aid on board and, on the advice of medical experts, the flight diverted so the passenger could receive emergency medical treatment,” he mentioned.
The spokesperson mentioned they understood the layover in Athens had been “incredibly frustrating.”
He mentioned: “As Athens is an airport we don’t usually service, we were unable to get the flight back underway before the crew reached their duty limits.
“Passengers are being provided with hotel rooms and meals, with their flight to London now scheduled to depart Athens on Wednesday afternoon.
“We understand this delay would be incredibly frustrating for passengers and we thank them for their understanding.”
On social media, one passenger mentioned the scenario in Greece was an “utter shambles.”
“Don’t fly Qantas!” the passenger tweeted.
“Sat on the tarmac for hours, no food or drink. None of the charging ports worked on the plane, so after a 24-hours flight people can’t contact family, friends and work.
“Now we’re all standing in the cold with no clue. Hundreds of us, many with babies. Have been told we are here for the night but have refused to unload the luggage.
“Families with no clothes, no baby formula, missed connections etc. Utter shambles. Don’t fly Qantas!!”
