Medical emergencies a costly affair for airlines
EMIRATES said yesterday that flight diversions had become a norm recently due to in-flight medical emergencies. The airline said the diversions had become costly for the airlines.
It said a single flight diversion could cost Emirates anything from $50 000 (R664 745) to more than $600 000, depending on the nature of the diversion, which included fuel, flight catering, landing and ground handling fees, air navigation cost, passenger rebooking costs and onward connection, as well as other associated costs to care for crew and passengers.
Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ executive vice-president and chief operating officer, said: “We can never hope to recover the costs of a flight diversion, but the wellbeing of our customers is always our number one priority. Airlines handle medical emergencies differently, as there are no international regulations on this front.”
Emirates said it operated more than 3 500 departures a week, or more than 194 000 flights in 2016. In those 12 months, the airline handled more than 60 flight diversions due to medical emergencies.
The company said that in 2016 it delivered nearly 23 000 hours of medical training for cabin crew and pilots to ensure they were ready to assist passengers on board.
Redha added that Emirates
An Emirates crew made about 20 calls to the medical advisory service per 100 000 passengers flown.
had invested more than $7 million in the installation of its medical equipment on board, with annual maintenance costs being a further $1.7m.
All Emirates cabin crew go through a comprehensive initial training programme, which is required by the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority, recurrent training to keep their skills up to date as well as additional specific training for the use of on-board medical equipment.
“If we have to divert a flight, our aim is to get medical attention for the afflicted passenger as soon as possible via our medical advisory consultants and Emirates’ own operations control team. We identify the best location where the passenger may receive appropriate care and where the airport can adequately support the passengers and aircraft,” said Redha.
Work closely
Emirates’ in-house team of aviation medical specialists, flight planners and operations controllers all work closely to conduct detailed scenario planning and regular updates to diversion protocols in keeping with the airline’s growing global network, as well as advances in medical thinking, in-flight medical technologies and training techniques.
Redha said that on average, an Emirates crew made about 20 calls to the medical advisory service per 100 000 passengers flown. However, most calls did not result in a diversion, he said. He added: “The diversion location selected may be some place where medical costs are expensive, and travellers should consider procuring the appropriate insurance before they travel.”