75 Just landed in KEF Iceland

It appears 75 has had to detour into Iceland. Hope all is ok.

VS site saying "customer welfare reasons"

I see that it is now back in the air with a new eta of 18:17. Hope all is ok with the pax

Has got to be a medical diversion - hope the passenger is OK.

They say an aircraft is a good place to have a medical issue, as all the crew are first aid trained. The crew have access to medics / doctors on the ground via the radio / satellite comms. There is a defibrillator onboard too. Add to that on an aircraft with 450 people onboard, there is likely to be at least one or two passengers from the medical profession.

That said, there is only so much you can do at 35,000ft - when you realise you need to get the passenger to a hospital, it's time to take the nearest diversion airport with suitable facilities. I would imagine the hospital in Keflavik is very good - I wish the passenger well.

medical emergencies at 40000 feet

It seems that a lot of it comes down to luck and sometimes what the crew tells the medic - in one example the crew didn't tell the doctor that they had a defibrillator on board, in another didn't call the ground service and in another even arrange for the plane to be met by medical assistance once it landed.

BTW I was only looking because I wanted to see how much it would have costed VS for the diversion and landing.

The answer - very expensive - $70k - $230k

Fingers crossed all will be fine. KEF is very used to this. It must happen pretty frequently with all the TATL traffic.

Both times I've been to KEF were diversions on TATL flights where pax had cardiac issues (and both times pax were ok) and were deplaned. The pilots on both occasions were good enough to have checked-in with the hospital in KEF and let the whole plane know that pax were doing fine, expecting a full recovery, when we finally reached our destination (JFK once, and LHR the other time).

In 2008 we had to divert to Bermuda for a medical emergency . Some Jamaican swallowed some packages and we think one burst . It was like christmas when we landed with all the flashing lights , was on the ground for around 2 hours but we landed 4 hours late because we had passed Bermuda and had to turn back , crew were fantastic

BTW I was only looking because I wanted to see how much it would have costed VS for the diversion and landing.

The answer - very expensive - $70k - $230k

Are you sure it would be this much? Those figures seem very expensive (I know Iceland is not cheap).

It would cost a lot less than that to land a 747 at LHR including the passenger handling / ground handling fees. As this was a medical diversion, the aircraft probably used a remote stand. No passengers de-planed (other than the passenger with the medical issue & anyone they were travelling with). So no passenger handling fees to pay for. No ground handling needed - other than maybe a bit of extra fuel.

I was just going on what was written in the article.

[Darren Wheeler]

While not a medical diversion, in this court case from 2010, VS were awarded £8000 in damages. While it may not have covered the whole cost, it wouldn't just be a token payment.

As extra punishment, Gander ain't easy or cheap to get out of.

I've just arrived in MCO on the VS73 to learn of the VS75 diversion to KEF. This was a medical diversion and do hope the passenger is ok.

Jon

As extra punishment, Gander ain't easy or cheap to get out of.

Darren, thanks for reminding me.

The nights I have lost in Gander because of inclement weather, icing occurring faster than de-icing and crew hours being over-run; at least the accommodation, food and bar are good.

medical emergencies at 40000 feet

It seems that a lot of it comes down to luck and sometimes what the crew tells the medic - in one example the crew didn't tell the doctor that they had a defibrillator on board, in another didn't call the ground service and in another even arrange for the plane to be met by medical assistance once it landed.

I have only responded to one medical emergency on VS and the crew were superb, had done exactly the right things, offered me information such as that they had IV fluids on board and produced a card with a list of all medical equipment and drugs that they had should I need them

[Darren Wheeler]

As extra punishment, Gander ain't easy or cheap to get out of.

Darren, thanks for reminding me.

The nights I have lost in Gander because of inclement weather, icing occurring faster than de-icing and crew hours being over-run; at least the accommodation, food and bar are good.

At least you have an onward flight already.

Ticket sales - "Where would you like to fly to?"
Pax - "Manchester."
TS - "What brings to Gander?"
Pax - I was off-loaded for being drunk and disruptive!"
TS - "Ohh. NEXT!!"

Bad day for diversions as VFIZ on the 603 stopped at Joburg on the way for some reason. Would it have been medical I guess, but so close to CPT