What Happens When There’s an In-Flight Emergency? How Airlines and Passengers Are Supposed to Respond

27.03.2024 - 17:41 / afar.com / Airlines

So far in 2024, several in-flight medical emergencies have made headlines around the world. In early January, a passenger on a Jet2 flight from Tenerife, Spain, to Manchester, England, died after being found unresponsive in the lavatory. Passengers on a Munich-bound Lufthansa flight in early February described the “absolute horror” onboard when a man began gushing “liters” of blood from his nose and mouth; the flight returned to Bangkok for an emergency landing, but the passenger died on the plane. A third incident occurred on a flight from Punta Cana to Charlotte in late February when a 41-year-old female passenger began convulsing; the flight was diverted, but she later died at a hospital.

While such tragedies garner plenty of media attention, most in-flight medical situations are less extreme. The most common event is syncope or near-syncope, which is the medical term for fainting or passing out, according to a 2018 study from JAMA, accounting for nearly 33 percent of all incidents. That is followed by gastrointestinal problems (nearly 15 percent), and cardiovascular symptoms (7 percent). A medical emergency occurs in approximately 1 in every 604 flights.

Statistically, that means your chances of being onboard a flight during a medical crisis are fairly slim, though that likelihood increases the more often you fly. However, aviation insiders and medical experts say there are ways that all passengers—whether they’re global jet-setters or fly only a handful of times a year—can be better prepared if trouble does strike at 30,000 feet.

“The primary goal in a medical emergency is the safety and well-being of the passenger experiencing the emergency,” says Bob Bacheler, managing director of Flying Angels, Inc., which transports people on commercial airlines with a flight nurse or doctor. “Anything you can do to support that is very, very helpful. You can help without being a medical professional simply by offering what assistance you can—or just staying out of the way.”

Here, a guide to what passengers should be aware of during an in-flight emergency, including tips from flight attendants, doctors, and aviation experts on what to do and how to help—even if you don’t have any medical training.

At the first sign of a medical emergency, flight attendants are the primary line of defense: They’re specially trained on what to do during in-flight emergencies, including administering basic first aid and operating an automatic external defibrillator, or AED (a device that analyzes the heartbeat of a person having cardiac arrest and, if needed, can deliver an electric shock to attempt to revive it). Flight attendants also must follow strict protocols, which involve communicating with the pilot and on-the-ground