Pregnant woman collapses after being forced to wait EIGHT HOURS for takeoff amid chaos at airport
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND: A pregnant woman reportedly collapsed as hundreds of people were left waiting on a plane for over eight hours on December 15 amid chaotic scenes at Manchester Airport. Earlier this month, a Cathay Pacific flight with a Hong Kong destination experienced technical difficulties, leaving two other aircraft trapped behind it on the taxiway.
A TUI flight to Cape Verde and a Brussels Airlines flight to Brussels were both waiting behind it as a result of the knock-on effect. Later, Cathay Pacific apologized and stated that engineers are now inspecting the problematic aircraft. The event took place just a few days before tens of thousands of people started making mass trips to visit loved ones over the Christmas holiday.
READ MORE
JUST PLANE SCARY! Pilot and passenger dangle 100ft over live power lines as aircraft gets entangled in wires
One passenger on the Brussels Airlines flight described how people were only given complimentary water while they were forced to wait on the taxiway for over six hours owing to a problem with the Cathay Pacific flight. Prior to being stopped, the flight was scheduled to take off at about 12.30 pm on December 15. The passengers were given the choice to stay on board or to disembark and find alternative transportation before the plane was eventually pulled back to the airport just before 6 pm. Since then, Manchester Airport has stated that "all necessary procedures" were completed to guarantee the security of travelers.
Chris Brereton, who was traveling to Belgium, reported that a pregnant woman "collapsed" and described how agitated people grew as they waited on the runway for hours. In order to enjoy his vacation in Bruges, he decided to stay on board the trip, and just after 8 pm, the plane took off for Brussels. The flight got delayed for eight hours, as a result, Daily Mail reports.
Mr Brereton said, "The poor pregnant lady collapsed and two people on board stepped up to help her. This was after hours of being sat on the tarmac behind the broken plane. The captain kept saying 'they're coming to get you soon' but it just never happened. The lady then collapsed at the front of the plane and thank God there were trained people on board who knew what they were doing. It's an unbelievable credit to everybody on board that it stayed so calm and civilized because it could easily have kicked off."
Following the flight's blockage, Brussels Airlines acknowledged that a pregnant passenger required medical treatment on board. They continued by saying that "safety regulations" prevented the plane from being towed back to the terminal.
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said, "We regret any disruption caused to passengers as a result of this incident, caused by a technical issue with a Cathay Pacific aircraft. The safety of everyone on our site is a top priority and all necessary procedures were followed to ensure the safety of passengers, aircraft, and the surrounding airfield operation. This meant people onboard the affected aircraft faced delays as the appointed ground handlers of the airlines concerned ensured they could safely deploy the necessary equipment on the airfield to resolve the issue."