A London-bound Kenya Airways plane was on Monday forced to turnabout and reschedule its flight after a passenger was taken ill.
The KQ 100, according to a statement from the national carrier, was destined for Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom at around 14:19 hours when the medical emergency was declared.
“The crew on board assisted by two medical doctors and a nurse provided medical assistance to the passenger as the captain declared a medical emergency with air traffic control,” reads the statement.
This, it says, was to facilitate a landing for the passenger to receive further medical assistance.
“The aircraft landed safely at 14:47 hours and paramedics who were already on the ground to receive the aircraft immediately took the passenger to hospital for further medical attention,” it states.
KQ did not provide more details on the time the time the flight resumed.
It noted that the safety of its crew and customers remains a priority.
Cases of medical emergencies happen in commercial planes but are rare according to Medical Air Service (MAS).
It states that such emergencies occur on approximately one out of every 600 commercial flights.
According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, this amounts to approximately 44,000 flights per year worldwide.
“There is no such thing as a risk-free flight in terms of health and safety,” it says.
