Kenya Airways Explains Why It Declared Emergency Mid-Flight
KQ revealed that the incident occurred at approximately 2.19 pm which forced the captain to declare a medical emergency with Air Traffic Control (ATC).
Marvin Chege 
A Kenya Airways flight heading to London Heathrow from Nairobi on Monday, October 9 declared a medical emergency after a passenger was taken ill.
In a statement, KQ revealed that the incident occurred at approximately 2.19 pm which forced the captain to declare a medical emergency with Air Traffic Control (ATC).
This enabled the flight to get a priority landing so that the passenger who was taken ill could receive medical attention.
"Kenya Airways PLC (KQ) confirms that on Monday, 9th October 2023, at around 14:19hrs KQ100 operating from Nairobi to London Heathrow, declared a medical emergency after a passenger was taken ill.
Passengers at Terminal 4, Heathrow Airport in London, United Kingdom. /MYLONDON.NEWS
"The crew on board assisted by two medical doctors and a nurse provided medical assistance to the passenger as the Captain declared a medical emergency with Air Traffic Control (ATC) so that the flight could get an expedited landing for the passenger to receive further medical attention," the statement read in part.
The aircraft landed safely at 14:47hrs (2.47 pm) and paramedics who were already on the ground to receive the aircraft immediately took the passenger to hospital for further medical attention.
Notably, the airline did not indicate at which airport the Boeing 787-8 (twin-jet) plane landed, with some reports indicating that it was re-routed to Paris, France where it landed before proceeding to the UK.
The airline also did not disclose when the plane departed Nairobi or landed at Heathrow Airport, nor did it reveal the illness the passenger was suffering from.
A spot check on flight tracking websites indicated that the plane left Nairobi between 9:01 a.m. and 9:05 a.m. on Monday, October 9, arriving at Heathrow at 4:15 p.m.
"The safety of our crew and customers is our number one priority," reassured KQ.
An airline's crew is trained to manage inflight medical emergencies and basic resuscitation. The crew have access to medical kits, but at times, seek consent from the passenger who is ill for any treatment or procedure, whenever possible.
"Maintain medical notes and monitoring records after the incident. The doctor should keep the documentation for at least three years, as it is the limitation period in many (English law/Commonwealth) jurisdictions. Most airline staff will write their own reports," the National Library of Medicine states.
Kenya Airways is no stranger to encountering medical emergencies, but this is among the few that fortunately did not turn fatal.
On September 2, 2022, a passenger died during its direct flight from Nairobi to New York in the United States (US), the second one reported in two weeks after one of its passengers had died aboard another KQ flight which was on the reverse journey from New York.
A medical emergency occurs in the skies about once every 600 flights, according to a study that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The most common of them include fainting, respiratory problems, heart trouble, and nausea or vomiting.
The study found that it is rare for an in-flight emergency to end in death, but the worst outcome does take place 0.3 per cent of the time.
A Kenya Airways plane taking off from JFK Airport in New York. /MSHALE
