Emergency on Emirates flight? Here's how they deal with it

Dubai - In 2016, Emirates delivered nearly 23,000 hours of medical training for cabin crew and pilots.

Emirates Airline handled more than 60 flight diversions due to medical emergencies in 2016, the airline revealed on Tuesday.
Although medical emergecies only occur on a tiny portion of the millions of flights that take-off every year, they are extremely costly for airlines and have been increaseing as more and more people travel by air.
For Emirates, a single flight diversion can cost anything from $50,000 to over $600,000, depending on the nature of the diversion which include fuel, flight catering, landing and ground handling fees, air navigation costs, passenger rebookings and onward connections, as well as other associated costs necessary to care for crew and "We can never hope to recover the costs of a flight diversion, but the wellbeing of our customers is always our number one priority.
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Airlines handle medical emergencies differently, as there are no international regulations on this front," Adel Al Redha, Emirates Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
"At Emirates, like everything else we do, the safety of our passengers comes first. If there is a medical emergency on board, our crew have the training and equipment to help them assess the situation, and deliver the best possible outcome for the affected passengers."
In 2016, Emirates delivered nearly 23,000 hours of medical training for cabin crew and pilots to ensure they are adequately prepared to assist passengers on board. All Emirates cabin crew go through a comprehensive initial training program which is required by the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) as well as recurrent training to keep their skills up to date, as well as additional specific training for the use of on-board medical equipment.
Emirates' medical training scheme includes both theory and practical elements, and prepares crew members to recognise and deal with common situations, as well as rare but life threatening events in which a timely response is important.
Topics covered include basic life support (CPR); medical conditions including asthma, heart disorders, seizures and allergic reactions; trauma related topics and even emergency childbirth amongst others. Pilots also attend training sessions covering topics such as Hypoxia, Malaria, Dengue, Trauma, CPR and choking and occupational health issues.
Emirates has invested more than $7 million in installing medical equipment on board its aircraft, with annual maintenance costs of $1.7 million. Each Emirates aircraft comes equipped with medical equipment that includes emergency medical kits, oxygen bottles, resuscitators, a defibrillator, a telemedicine unit, and a 24/7, satellite medical advisory service that connects crew to specialist aviation medical consultants who can help assess the passenger's situation in real time.
Making the right call - on average - Emirates' crew make about 20 calls to the medical advisory service per 100,000 passengers flown.
Although most calls due not result in diversion, professional consultation allows the crew to make better informed decisions and offer the proper support to affected passengers, especially in cases when there are no volunteer medical professionals on the flight.
The airline's in-house team of aviation medical specialists, flight planners and operations controllers work closely together to plan for different scenarios and regularly update diversion protocols.
"If we have to divert a flight, our aim is to get medical attention for the afflicted passenger as soon as possible. Via our medical advisory consultants and Emirates' own operations control team, we identify the best location where the passenger may receive appropriate care, and where the airport can adequately support the passengers and aircraft," Al Redha added.
"The diversion location selected may be someplace where medical costs are expensive and travellers should consider procuring the appropriate insurance before they travel." reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai