‘There was panic everywhere’: Eight hospitalised after turbulence on flight

Dublin Airport has said eight people were taken to hospital after a flight from Doha experienced turbulence yesterday.

Following reports of injuries to six passengers and six crew on board the Qatar Airways flight, the airport said all passengers were assessed for injury before disembarking the aircraft, adding: “Eight passengers were subsequently taken to hospital.

“The return flight to Doha (flight QR018) is scheduled to operate as normal this afternoon, albeit with a delay.

“Flight operations at Dublin Airport were unaffected and continue as normal this afternoon.”

Twelve people were injured after the Dublin-bound flight encountered turbulence over Turkey and was met by emergency services after landing in Dublin at about 1pm.

Passengers who disembarked the flight said they would not “be in a rush to get back on a plane” after the ordeal.

Some told RTÉ News that they felt the plane drop for “about five seconds” and “the poor flight attendant went up into the air, food went everywhere”.

“Some of the flight attendants had scratches on their face, one lady had ice up to her face. Another had a sling on her arm. There was panic everywhere,” a young couple named Emma and Conor said.

Another young man, Cathal, showed the back of his shorts, which were ripped to shreds, and he added: “Never again”.

One woman, named Eileen, described the incident as the “most frightening experience I’ve ever had on a plane”.

Graeme McQueen, media relations manager at DAA, the operator of Dublin Airport, said its team was providing assistance to passengers and staff. “Qatar Airways flight QR017 from Doha landed safely as scheduled at Dublin Airport shortly before 1pm on Sunday,” he said.

“Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency services, including airport police and our fire and rescue department, due to six passengers and six crew on board reporting injuries after the aircraft experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkey.”

RTÉ reported that the turbulence occurred unexpectedly about two hours into the flight and that in-flight service was taking place at the time.

The plane felt as if it was “falling out of the sky” for about 15 to 20 seconds, according to RTÉ. In a statement, Qatar Airways said the matter was now under an internal investigation.

Last Tuesday, in an unrelated incident on a flight from London, one passenger died and 30 others were injured after a Singapore Airlines encountered turbulence and was forced to land in Bangkok.

A British man (73) died during the incident from a suspected heart attack while several people were critically injured, some with brain and spinal cord injuries. More than 40 people are still being treated in hospital in the Thai capital.

Singapore Airlines has changed its inflight seatbelt rules and altered at least one flight route after the turbulence.

A spate of turbulence reports has triggered a debate over whether climate change may be causing it.

A report from the University of Reading last year suggested turbulence could worsen with climate change.

Professor Paul Williams, one of the authors, said more research was needed to understand the impact of climate change on air turbulence.