The flight had to make an emergency landing in Bulgaria’s Sofia as an 84-year-old passenger fell sick
Published : 03 Dec 2023, 11:01 AM
A London-bound flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines has made an emergency landing in Bulgaria’s Sofia after an 84-year-old passenger fell sick onboard.
The BG-201 Dhaka to London flight via Sylhet resumed flying to London three hours after it dropped off the passenger in Sofia.
The pilot decided to land at the nearest airport available to save the life of an elderly passenger when he fell grievously ill, said Tahera Khandaker, general manager of the Public Relations Department at Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
He changed the route and landed in Bulgaria’s Sofia International Airport, where the passenger was taken to a hospital. Hence, the flight got delayed in reaching London, she said.
Flight tracker website Flight Radar showed that BG 201 took off at 8:40 am from Dhaka and landed in Sylhet at 9:03 am. It left Sylhet at 10:22 am and made an emergency landing in Sofia airport after flying for nine hours.
The elderly passenger boarded in Sylhet, according to the Biman officials. He had a ‘fit to fly medical certificate’ necessary for a long flight. However, he suffered from hypertension and respiratory distress during the flight. As per the request of the pilots, a doctor on the flight treated him.
The sick passenger was given oxygen support during the flight. Shortly afterwards, the flight landed in Sofia.