Qantas plane, Australian passengers stay night in Azerbaijan after mid-air medical emergency
A Qantas Airbus A380 flying from London to Singapore has been forced to make an urgent landing in Azerbaijan, after a passenger suffered a life-threatening cardiac emergency mid-flight, disrupting the journey for hundreds onboard.
The aircraft touched down safely at 7:55am local time at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku, Azerbaijan, between Russia and Iran.
Australian doctor Hamish Urquhart said the passenger, a woman in her 60s, experienced a major cardiac event during the flight.
Dr Urquhart, along with doctors Stephen Torbin and Tanya Trinh, helped stabilise the woman while the plane was preparing to land.
“The lady was really quite unwell and needed intravenous access while we were trying to land, which was a bit challenging,”
Dr Urquhart said.
Dr Hamish Urquhart, along with an ophthalmologist and a retired surgeon from Melbourne, helped stabilise the woman. (Supplied: Hamish Urquhart)
He said the pilot had to make a “dramatic 180-degree turn” to reach Baku, the closest airport capable of accommodating a large plane.
“In the air it was a bit stressful as we were flying towards Afghanistan,” he said.
Dr Torbin said the trio assessed the woman’s condition before agreeing with a diagnosis and administering treatment.
He said it was not the first time he had assisted with a mid-air emergency.
“It’s the seventh or eighth time something like this has happened, many of them on long haul flights,”
Dr Torbin said.
Dr Urquhart said the woman, who was travelling from the United Kingdom with her husband, was transported to a nearby hospital.
Passengers had to disembark the plane in Baku. (Supplied: Hamish Urquhart)
Several passengers have told the ABC that after landing, the captain informed them one engine had a problem, and there was no one in Baku qualified to inspect it.
Dr Urquhart said passengers were told the airport rarely saw an Airbus A380.
“Everyone seems to be taking it in their stride which is nice to see. People realised the lady was very unwell,” he said.
However he later said passenger sentiment had deteriorated, with the airport not set up to receive visitors.
Dr Urquhart says Heydar Aliyev International Airport has not been set up to receive visitors. (Supplied: Hamish Urquhart)
‘It was chaos’
Another QF2 passenger, Nick Phillips, said Qantas’s handling of the diversion was chaotic, with little communication and those on board left confused about what was happening.
“From the whole process of finding out what was going on, to where we were going to land, getting a visa to get into Azerbaijan — it was chaos,” Mr Phillips said on Tuesday morning local time.
“It took five hours to exit the plane, then three hours to wait for a visa to come through, and finally a two-hour trip to a hotel with frequent stops as the guide called someone, evidently totally unsure where to take us.”
Mr Phillips said passengers were split between hotels based on where they were seated on the plane.
“Simply because I was sitting at the back of the plane, about 60 to 80 of us are in a shoddy and dirty hotel, while others are at the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton.”
He said he experienced further problems when his Australian bank blocked his card while applying for the $61 US visa online.
“Qantas said we had to do it ourselves and claim it back. I was not the only one who had this payment issue.
“The one saving grace is that we, the passengers, have had a great sense of camaraderie, but help from Qantas has been lacking.“
Passengers to depart Tuesday
In a statement on Monday, a Qantas spokesperson said QF2 diverted to Baku “due to a medical incident onboard”.
“We apologise to customers for the disruption,” they said.
In a statement, a Qantas spokesperson said QF2 diverted to Baku “due to a medical incident onboard”. (Supplied: Hamish Urquhart)
The spokesperson said the “diversion caused the operating crew to reach their duty limits, meaning the flight could not continue onwards the same day”.
They said all customers were given overnight accommodation and passengers were expected to depart for Singapore on Tuesday.
In a later statement, a Qantas spokesperson said the aircraft had been due for routine maintenance checks in Singapore, which would now be carried out in Baku due to the diversion.
A qualified A380 engineer was being flown in from London to complete the inspection, they said.
“Safety is our number one priority and we are focused on getting our customers on their way as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.
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