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Family holiday to Australia - 2 adults, 2 children. We flew Business class with Emirates to Dubai aboard an A380 on 25/7/12 and this was a very good experience. The journey that followed from Dubai to Brisbane involved a fuelstop in Singapore and the aircraft was the less comfortable Boeing 777.

During the flight our older son Max, who is 15 years old, suffered motionsickness - something he is prone to do. He was sick a couple of times but seemed to be over the worst by the time we landed in Singapore (he had stopped bringing anything up about an hour before we landed) though was still suffering from that feeling of nausea. Not pleasant for him but therewas no disturbance to other passengers - all the action had been in the toilet!

On re-embarking the 'plane we were greeted by stewards asking how we were and my wife pointed out that we were all excited about getting to Australia as it had been a long trip from London and that Max was not feeling 100% as he had been suffering motion sickness on the previous leg of the journey.

Ten minutes or so later there was an announcement that there would be a fifteen minute delay to the flight as some bags needed to be taken out of the hold. Some while after that a steward approached my wife to say that we needed to leave the aircraft. Apparently, without us knowing anything about it, Max's condition had been reported by a steward to Medlink, an airline health advice bureau, as 'constantly throwing up' and consequently Medlink had judged that he was too ill to fly. The bags that had been removed turned
out to be ours!

Crucially, this description given of Max's condition was totally factually inaccurate - he had not actually been properly sick for some time.

My wife, who works as Head Teacher of a primary school and therefore has routine experience of children, school trips, and a great deal of experience of this type of situation, had been monitoring Max's condition since he had started to feel unwell. She was more than happy that Max was only suffering motion sickness and so was I. In contrast, the Emirates assessment of Max's condition had been made in an instant as we boarded the 'plane without anyone actually having any contact at all with Max (no one even spoke with
him) and there seemed to be no Emirates steward on the aircraft qualified to make any diagnosis of his symptoms in the usual way.

After protesting vociferously the Purser eventually seemed to accept that there was no evidence at all that Max needed to be removed from the aircraft and he agreed to speak with the Captain to see if we might continue with our journey. It looked as if common sense would prevail.

We were standing in a position where we could see this conversation take place and can confirm that the Captain reacted noisily and with a lot of hand waving - he seemed upset to say the least. After a couple of minutes the Purser came rushing back to say that we must leave the aircraft straight away and there was nothing more he could do. We were really disgusted that at no point did the Captain get up to come and speak with us himself.

Left with little choice but to leave as our bags had already been removed and security would be called if we didn't, we were led from the aircraft like criminals, both our children crying. But we simply didn't know what else we could do? We were taken directly to the Raffles Medical centre (within Singapore airport) by the ground crew where Max was seen by a Doctor and declared 'fit to fly' within minutes of us leaving the 'plane.

We were then told that whereas Emirates had said that they would put us on the next flight to Brisbane it turned out that they would only put us on the next Emirates flight which was the same time a full day later. They completely refused to pay for a Qantas flight leaving some hours later and also the cost of seeing the doctor for the 'fit to fly' piece of paper and the transit hotel costs in Singapore would need to be borne by us directly.

So we paid to fly with Qantas to Brisbane a few hours later as we couldn't face getting back onto an Emirates flight. American Express Travel were great in supporting us throughout - such a difference in attitude between these two organisations.

We have had numerous exchanges since with SH who handles Complaints for Emirates ([email protected]) and have still to receive even an apology from her or Emirates for the way that we were treated. She even wrote to us after 'personally reviewing' the file and referred to our son throughout her letter by the wrong name which was a complete disgrace.

We therefore would like to share with other travellers that Emirates appear to know absolutely nothing at all about how to handle families with a child prone to motion sickness and travelling long distances. They know even less about customer service. Never again

Are you back in the UK yet? If you miss a segment of an outbound trip some airlines cancel the return journey.

Am very glad that your son is OK and that it was nothing serious. But, air carriers on long-hauls have to look at it exactly the opposite way. Same thing as hospitals which treat stomach upset as a heart attack until the more serious condition can be ruled out. Unfortunately vomiting and dehydration at high altitude can be a lethal combination and while aircraft can make emergency landings, that actually can be very risky when aircraft are too heavy due to the fuel they are carrying for the long haul.

If you were at origin or destination and your son became ill, would you have flown without a full examination by a physician? I suspect not and that's what Emirates faced. While it's possible that they overstated the volume of the condition (to be polite), the fact of the condition alone is scary.

As to rebooking on another carrier, I very much doubt that any carrier would purchase a ticket for a pax in this situation on another carrier. Again, had your son become ill at the departure airport, the right thing to have done would have been to rebook you on the next available online flight. The same is true for this situation.

All of this seems terribly unfair in the instant, but looking at it as one must from the bigger picture, the inconvenience of delay is far outweighed by the risk of flying at high altitude over long distances.

There are other threads posted by people in casts or far along in a pregnancy. The calculus is still the same.

If I were in your shoes, I too would have been furious in the instant. But, upon reflection, I would be grateful that someone else made this decision for me.

Would waiting 24 hours really have damaged your vacation? If you would have missed a cruise departure I can understand but if not I'd take the night in Singapore and let your son recoup. As a child I used to get vicious motion sickness attacks and know how much it can suck.


Also I think the man waving his hands was just a Ft member EightBlack when they told him they wouldn't open another bottle of Dom until after takeoff.

Customer service is non-existent in this company. The only way to speak to someone is through email, behind a computer screen. Try to speak to a gold desk member at the lounge - they will swiftly direct to someone behind a keyboard.

Its a shambles and I really feel sorry for you, hope you made it back safely & your wee one is doing well.

While this event is extremely unfortunate, I would say I've found one needs to be careful what one says to an airline. I remember once, checking in, started complaining that I was a little unwell and got a very suspicious "What's wrong with you" from the check in agent. I was quick to point out it was just a headache -so be careful what you say.

As for the Captain not saying anything to you personally - thats' not his job. He's not in a customer facing role, the Purser is, so don't feel bad about that.

I think the worst thing about this is Emirates lack of support once they'd offloaded you (for no fault of your own).

They should have at least put you up in a hotel (I believe there is a transit hotel within Changi?).

You may even be due compensation due to Involuntary Denied Boarding, but I think Emirates would be very forceful in opposing this.

As mentioned upthread, if you having already returned, check that your returns tickets have not already been cancelled due to you not showing for the Singapore-Brisbane leg. I doubt this will have happened though, as your flight was Dubai-Brisbane - which you actually showed for.

Not only is this not IDB, but under the COC, it was, on the facts, the correct decision. 20/20 hindsight is great and it is truly fortunate that OP's son was not seriously ill. But, Medlink is there to provide professsional medical assessments to air carriers. This is the same outfit that provides medical advice during emergencies in the air.

Consider that if there had been an inflight emergency because OP's son was much sicker than thought and there were an emergency landing at a location not quite as welcoming to pax as one would hope.

I come back to the question of what would be appropriate if one were at home, one's child becomes ill and one has all the conveniences of home handy. Would you fly 1/2-way round the world without a full medical evaluation and opinion that it's safe to fly? I would not. The fact that this ocurred at an intermediate point makes no medical or policy difference.

While I do not blame the F/A for reporting your sons condition, this is yet another stunning example of the poor customer service on EK.

If EK observed even the basics in customer service I would have expected the OP to at least be provided with a hotel and transfers due to the offloading. Surely that is not over the top.

In my opinion someone from the flight deck should probably have explained the situation calmly to the family, rather than using the cabin crew as an intermediary.

Best of luck seeking compensation, I do hope you receive something!

One thing I don't understand here (about such situations in general):

The airport had medical professional(s); couldn't have they simply requested you to have him checked out?

I guess those who get air sick should make sure the crew don't catch them!

Several people get sick on a plane - it's not uncommon. I have seen people throw up on their seat, in the aisle, on the FAs, and if EK decided to remove all these people, none of their planes would ever make it to the destination on time.

I am not a doctor (give me four years :p) but I don't think nausea and/or vomiting alone are a cause for major alarm.

I feel miserable reading this. SHAME ON EMIRATES for total lack of support.

I'm not a doc. either. But, as far as I've been told, nausea & vomiting can cause dehydration, which, at high altitude, can become life-threatening in minutes. Not something too fool around with.

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It is a tricky one I suppose. I agree with Ung that it is very easy to end up with a raised eyebrow when you say you feel a little unwell, I had that feeling myself and quickly said I was fine.

I don't think there is much upside for an airline in allowing passengers with certain symptoms to continue travel. Serious illness on board after the captain or FA allowed them to travel will, apart from the predicament of the passenger, probably result in disciplinary action and maybe even fines from the country they are flying to for allowing a sick person to travel. On the other hand it's not the passenger's fault so EK could have been more helpful although they may say its the passenger's fault for travelling when he knew he was sick. In this case common sense should have prevailed where they recognise it's probably only minor but had to offload for procedure reasons and so provided some after support and not ruined a journey and lost a passenger for life no doubt.

Whether medlink was informed accurately about the symptoms is not going to be known since the person who informed them is not ( afaik ) on this forum

The attendant may have given an accurate description of the symptoms on arrival but what was reported to passenger misrepresented what the attendant said

What I do see though, is that if medlink advised that the passenger was too ill to fly, that it would be very strange for a flight captain to override this advice and so do not see that the captain did anything wrong at all in refusing travel

If the passenger's parent was a medical doctor, she may have been able to diagnose the child as being ok to travel, but being a head teacher of a school does not make her qualified to provide an "ok to fly" certificate

I have to say that on the basis of what Robinsonpyy says at least, the fault seems to be on the side of the airline. Motion sickness is not a new phenomenon, as witnessed by the presence of sick bags in front of every pax on every plane. Point taken about dehydration, but it is not difficult to quickly check if a pax is unfit to fly. But surely the burden should be on airline to demonstrate why this is the case? A second hand report from a F/A is not good enough - there would have to be something else.

And once a mistake had been seen to be made - well, this is where it got totally unacceptable.

No good EK - time to update guidance to staff and crew!

I am a bit surprised, at many times FT seems to take the sides of the airlines and disconnect to the passenger. Sure by their book they had the rights to do it, and the pilot had no job to talk to you, but many do and it is the decent thing to do. Especially when it is a family involving kids. The fact that the doc said he is fit to fly really disregards anything else and I am shocked they wouldn't pay for one nights hotel too after they were making all the decisions. I can't imagine the helpless frustration at the airport there.

This sounds very Emirates.:rolleyes: they always know everything.
and act first and ask questions later, not really hearing what one has to say.
Im so over it and will be letting my gold lapse for EY G+ where I get answers and comp upgrades and excellent service.

Good example to warn against letting the airline know too much of your personal business.

Australia may be a country that is hyper sensitive about allowing ill passengers to enter - maybe that is why the airline overreacted so radically.

i wonder if this is a typical airline response to sick passengers and trying to cover the butt/avoiding liability?

While I agree with getting the child checked to make sure he is fit to fly by a licensed physician, i think the entire approach could be dealt with more professionally (ie. having medics meet at the gate upon arrival, seek any on-board doctor for assistance)

The point is that the medical people had already stated that the passenger was unfit to fly

"Medlink had judged that he was too ill to fly"

and in that situation would you really expect a pilot to act against the recommendations of, what I would assume to be, medical practitioners

It then required another doctor , after they had disembarked, to assess that the passenger was fit to fly

I would say that after being informed that the passenger was unfit to fly, that the captain did the only thing he could reasonably be expected to do

This could be the issue. Aussie Customs and Immigration are Hyper sensitive indeed.

You may be correct...
But, perhaps the captain relaying this position himself to the Original Poster would have been a better way to handle it.

I am sickened reading the story.

Regardless of whether it was right to deplane the family or not, the whole situation was handled extremely poorly and there can be no excuse for that. Particularly when there were children involved, for whom the whole experience of being evicted from the aircraft would have been frightening and traumatic.

The Captain should have come and explained the situation himself. Emirates should have had their station manager meet the family, arrange for them to be accommodated overnight and assist them onto the flight the following day. This would have turned a horror story into a positive one, as they recount the experience to others. The inconvenience of an overnight stop in Singapore would have paled in comparison to the warm and supportive customer service they would have experienced.

Opportunity missed, EK.

It is a tough story to read and I feel for the family. But we weren't there so its hard to know what should have/could have been done under the circumstances.

I have also come to know the EK culture over these past 3 years and the words "empowerment" are "EK" do not quite go together.

To accommodate overnight would have required someone's approval, to go outside the rulebook would have required someones approval and any decisions which weren't by the book would have eventually trickled back to DXB and questions asked. Is that right? No, but it is what it is.

That depends on whether you believe that rules should be consistently applied or not

Though the way of the interaction with the family may not have been the best it is interesting to follow this thread bearing in mind in 2008 everyone on this forum was bashing EK after EK201 (A380) diverted into MUC.

The diversion was due to a dehydrated girl, similar story, dying in the end. All the "experts" on the forum knowing everything and having all the medical knowledge without any degree, not having been there, suggesting what EK should have done to prevent it (e.g. not letting them board in DXB, calling MEDLINK for advice)...
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...verts-muc.html

Going entirely by OPs account and timing, Emirates made the decision to off-load the passenger(s) before the medlink exam. The discussions, and off-loading luggage etc. took a while. Had the (quick) medlink exam come first, I suspect a different, more agreeable to all, outcome may have been possible.

I don't know anything about the above story, but if it's so, then it might have made it into their SOPs with a strong "no exception" notation. In that case, however, they could have still just insisted on a Dr certificate in time to let the family fly. THAT I think is the poor customer service part of the story.

I have been asked to see unwell patients on three occasions, though never on EK.
2 of the cases were straightforward. One was a diabetic who had low blood sugars and the Other was an asthmatic with difficulty in breathing.

The third one was very challenging. It was a male late 30's early 40's with sudden onset of chest pain . We were somewhere over the middle east ( Not an EK flight). Gave him aspirin, oxygen had a chat with the in flight rector and recommended a diversion. Thrombolysis ASAP can prevent further damage.

However the passenger wouldn't have any of it and wanted to continue towards LHR.(He was a US national).I'm sure that if it was EK he would have been sorted out at DXB even if the pax refused. Luckily he made it till LHR and was sorted out there. The airline was lucky, the passenger was lucky and I was lucky as well( though they did make him sign a disclaimer).
If anything had happened to him his family would have gone to the media saying how he was left to die!!!! And that no care was given.


The problem with all the 'experts' posting over here is that a majority of you don't have any
Clue how difficult it is to asess someone mid flight.
You don't have access to an ECG machine for example.Even listening with a stethoscope is not easy due to the ambient cabin noise(I have never seen a noise cancelling one in any airline medical kit so far)

It is sometimes a Damned if you do and damned if you don't situation sometimes and I have to agree with EK's decision .If unsure it is always safer to intervene early especially and they have made mistakes in the past.

I do agree that in this case the pax should have been treated in a better way though and there should have been proper communication throughout the event.

This is typical behaviour of Emirates crew - waving off responsibility as instead of trying to help. disgusting culture!

And what culture is that?

Poor form EK, poor form....

Organizational culture, maybe.

well...I think it's cos of previous history at Munich.

I am not sure what medlink is. How did the cabin crew got the information from the medlink?

EK has its own staff and station managers in SIN. I don't understand why they couldn't help them.

The possibility of being dumped on a random continent with no assistance because a child is ill makes Emirates an airline I would avoid.

The lack of accountability, the refusal to provide a suitable alternative, the refusal to assist, the rude handling of the issue post-trip, this all calls for a boycott of this airline by responsible families.

I have never even remotely considered routing myself with an unnecessary stopover in the middle east. EK and others simply dont exist in my world of travel.

You clearly lack a sense of adventure!! :D

When I had to get from Cairo to Colombo last month, one of the routings United gave me (award travel) was via Baghdad. I sat and pondered that for a few minutes before ultimately deciding that it would never get past the wife.

That would have been fun. The lounges in BGW are top notch :p

Which makes me wonder; does anyone deliberately connect via TLV?

How come so many people who would never fly on Emirates visit this forum?

Serious question.