After a couple of hours in the Lounge, we board QF064 and settle in, but there is one last event to report.
So to continue...
Push back was about 20mins early and we taxied out and joined the queue to take off. Immediately in front of us was a SwissAir flight.
Shortly after the SwissAir flight
began its take-off run, we pushed forward onto the runway and accelerated. This seemed a little unusual to me.
Then our Captain announced that a passenger had taken ill and we were returning to the Gate. Not much else was said about the ill passenger other than the Captain occasionally making announcements to keep us informed:
- the paramedics had come on board;
- the passenger was being taken off;
- ground staff were in the process of locating, and removing, her and her husband's bags;
- the plane would need to be refueled, etc.
We finally took off about two hours after our scheduled departure. However, we made up time and arrived in Sydney about an hour late.
While waiting for our bags, and again on the transfer bus to the domestic terminal, there were a number of South African pax discussing what had happened; a couple of them were seated very close to the ill passenger and witnessed the whole incident. From what I overheard I have pieced the following together:
The lady was seen in the lounge before the flight and seemed perfectly normal. Sometime after we pushed back, she slumped forward. I am not sure whether she was seated, standing or had stood up to do something, but she apparently collapsed without warning and was not breathing, and no pulse could be found. One of the S African passengers said: "I thought she was dead".
As luck would have it there were two Australian doctors on board; one seated in front of her and the other behind. Between the doctors and the crew, the passenger was well looked after and from what the CSM told me, she had regained consciousness and was quite lucid by the time the paramedics came on board; a period of 40mins according to the S African passengers. Of course, if the incident had occurred after we had taken off, if would have been considerably longer.
Our S African passengers were glowing in their praise, not only of the two Australian doctors, but also of the "extremely well trained crew". One stated that she was amazed at how quickly the two air hostesses organised oxygen and a drip.
About an hour before landing the CSM made a lengthy announcement advising those passengers that would miss connections, the details of their new flights (including flight numbers) or overnight accommodation, etc.
All in all, a difficult situation handled competently and professionally.
Qantas comes in for a lot of criticism on forums such as this; some of which is well deserved. Remember FASAs, JASAs, any time access, etc.; dare I mention "simpler and fairer"?
However, on this occasion the crew on QF064, and the ground staff in the background, performed faultlessly and should be commended. So, well done!
