Abu Dhabi: A specialist team from Etihad Airways has met the nine passengers who were hospitalised after an Etihad Airways plane encountered severe and unexpected clear air turbulence on Wednesday, the airline said on Thursday.
The Etihad team visited the Abu Dhabi hospital where the injured passengers were receiving care, support and assistance. The team members also met with families of several of the injured and confirmed Etihad Airways would cover the medical expenses.
Of the nine passengers in hospital, the majority were to be discharged by Thursday evening, they said.
Etihad Airways Flight EY474 was en route from Abu Dhabi to Jakarta when it encountered severe and unexpected turbulence about 45 minutes prior to arrival at Soekarno Hatta International Airport. The plane suffered interior damage and 31 passengers were injured.
The flight landed safely and passengers were met by medical assistance teams as they disembarked the aircraft, the airline said in a statement on Wednesday.
Twenty two people aboard the aircraft were treated by paramedics for minor injuries at the airport.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer said: “Our pilots and cabin crew are to be commended for the calm and professional manner in which they dealt with this exceptional event, and the care they showed the passengers, despite several being injured themselves. It is testament to the high standard of our crew training that the effects of the turbulence were minimised. At no time was the safety of the aircraft, passengers or crew compromised.”
