Etihad Airways flight makes emergency landing after baby falls ill

Chennai: An Abu Dhabi-Jakarta Etihad Airways flight made an unscheduled landing at the Chennai airport on Saturday after an eight-month old baby suffering from fever developed bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea. The aircraft landed at around 9.10 am and the baby was immediately shifted to a private hospital in Guindy. Hospital sources said that the child is out of danger.
The flight, with the remaining 320 passengers on board, departed for Jakarta at 8.30 pm. Earlier, the passengers were accommodated at different hotels in the city.Airport sources told TOI that a medical emergency had developed on board 50 minutes after the aircraft had flown past Chennai in an easterly direction. The pilot decided to turn and head to Chennai because Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur were about two hours away.
"The pilot selected the closest international airport and informed Chennai about the medical emergency on board. The child was moved to the nearest hospital after airport doctors attended on it briefly," an official said.
According to an air traffic controller, the pilot had informed about a medical emergency on board. "So, priority was accorded to the flight for return and landing," the official said.
The Chennai airport has a medical emergency room where a doctor is on duty round-the-clock. The doctor treats the ailing passenger who is then transferred to nearest hospital.
08/03/09 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Mar 2009, Foreign Mar 2009