Diverted Airplane Lands With Sick Passenger

December 13, 2017

[Updated] A TUI Airplane landed at L.F. Wade International Airport at approximately 12.30am this morning [Dec 13] after diverting to Bermuda for a sick passenger who was transferred to an awaiting ambulance and transported to King Edward Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Thomson flight 637 was met at the terminal by Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service personnel and Skyport officials. The airplane, which originally departed from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica is expected to continue on its journey to Birmingham International Airport in Birmingham, UK.

TUI UK Airplane Thomson 637 Bermuda, December 13 2017-4957

Update 8.03am: The plane stayed overnight with approximately 300 passengers and crew members allowed off the plane and transported to hotels.

Update 8.06pm: A flight operated by UK- based TUI and originating from Jamaica, made a medical diversion to the Island in the early hours of this morning, Skyport confirmed.

The aircraft and passengers ended up staying on island all day after a maintenance issue on the airplane was discovered causing a further delay that ultimately led to the crew timing out.

TUI UK Airplane Thomson 637 Bermuda, December 13 2017-4982

The Boeing 787 aircraft made an unscheduled landing at the LF Wade International Airport on Wednesday morning with 290 passengers and nine crew members on board, including a 56-year-old woman with a medical condition which could not be dealt with in the air.

The flight was enroute from Montego Bay to Birmingham, UK.

TUI UK Airplane Thomson 637 Bermuda, December 13 2017-5014

Mikaela Pearman, Marketing & Communications Officer, Bermuda Skyport, said: “The airplane arrived in Bermuda at 12:30am after a female passenger on board reportedly suffered a medical condition that required immediate attention on the ground. The woman, who had to be stabilized, was accompanied by her husband and both were transported to the Kind Edward VII Memorial hospital.

“Following the couple’s deplanement, a maintenance issue was discovered. Local technicians were called in to successfully carry out the necessary repairs. However, following the unexpected delay, the maximum number of shift hours for the crew members had expired, meaning the flight could not continue on.”

TUI UK Airplane Thomson 637 Bermuda, December 13 2017-5020

Passengers ultimately deplaned at 5:15am and were taken to the Grotto Bay and Fairmont Southampton Princess hotels respectively. The passengers returned to the LF Wade International Airport to commence check in at approximately 2:30 pm.

Flight 637, eventually departed the Island for Birmingham at 7:59pm. The female passenger did not board the aircraft back to the UK.

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Comments (31)

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  1. facts of the rock says:

    Millions of Dollars spent on changing name,
    biggest mistake Thompson ever made.

    • Fisherman says:

      nobody is interested in that – all that matters right now is that the person and other passengers are okay.

  2. Jet Enthusiast says:

    At least Thomson did not skimp on their jets. A beautiful 787 compared to the old beat up 777-200′s BA serves on BDA. Thanks Bernews for showing us what we are missing. This is probably as close as we will get to a Dreamliner 787 in BDA.

  3. i heart 441 says:

    Thousands pumped into the Bermuda economy because of the unfortunate sickness of a passenger.

    BTA should look into Bermuda being a one or two day stop over here before it embarks on the reainming trip to JA as a travel package for this airline.

    I think a German airline does a similar vacation package with JA and than off to Cuba.

  4. Dee says:

    I am on this flight we have been abandoned nobody knows where we are, we have not eaten we have been taken to a hotel nice but very expensive what are we meant to do help

    • facts of the rock says:

      Put in a claim when you return to UK and if Thompson dosnt cough up they are breaking the law.

    • LH says:

      You didn’t have to pay anything? Everyone got $25 for food! Hardly abandoned.

  5. Michelle says:

    We are still here and are waiting to board the plane.Thank you to all the kind taxi drivers,air port staff,hotel reception staff,waters at the hotel and the Bermudan people for making me feel so welcome.And for not allowing this frustrating situation to become an even bigger ordeal.

  6. Michelle says:

    A short stay,but can I just say Bermuda is a beautiful place.Absolutely stunning views!!

  7. sharon says:

    I was on that flight to night mare it was leftt on i land no one telling us anythink

  8. sharon says:

    People was very welcoming but sitting on plane waiting on tarmac for 4 hours or more no one would tell us what was going on home now missed two days off work at least were all back safe

  9. Marc says:

    Myself and my partner were on the plane.
    First of all can I say what a beautiful place Bermuda seems to be, if there is one saving grace from this ordeal its the fact I got to see somewhere I would like to come back to.

    As for the passenger – mmmm nothing confirmed however it wasn’t a straight forward sickness, she had to be restrained for throwing a violent attack on crew and passengers which was drug and/or drink related. To further back this up she was seen in similar states during the entire cruise. I then witnessed her walking off the plane at Bermuda continually saying “sorry” whilst walking down the cabin out of the door! Amazing the size of the butterfly effect one person can have on 300 plus people. TUI will not admit this as it affects the insurance claims that will be a result.

    As for TUI, biggest mistake they made was not being open and honest in their communications to us.

    • Cheryl says:

      Glad your home safe it certainly was an ordeal

    • Betty says:

      I don’t know about TUI but the biggest mistake you made is passing judgement on a very ill woman, who has suffered a breakdown. How do I know this, because she is a relative of mine. The breakdown was building up on the cruise and became full blown by the time she was on the plane bound for Birmingham. She was hospitalised in Bermuda and flown home with the care of a nurse. If you are ever ‘unfortunate’ enough to be on a plane, again, when someone is having a breakdown and as you are not qualified to diagnose one, may I suggest you keep your thoughts in your tiny brain. And for the record, she is a kind, thoughtful woman who, actually, does not drink and has never done drugs!!

    • TM says:

      Hi,
      Please can you let me know whether this plane was late taking off from Jamaica in the first place? We were disrupted by your plane’s diversion and I’m putting my case together for compensation. Remember the “extraordinary circumstances” of the initial diversion were not the real problem, the “technical problem” was.

      • Meme says:

        Yep the flight arrived at Montego Bay two hours left the same this was due to weather in Birmingham the bulk of the delay was caused by the technical fault and the cre going over their hours

    • Meme says:

      I was on that flight too that “passenger” should never have been allowed to fly I was a couple of rows away from her

      As you say the only plus was Bermuda was a lovely place to visit and I will go back

      Still wating for Tui to refund the cab fare they handled it appallingly

  10. Cheryl says:

    I was also on this flight the only thing I think they did wrong was they should of kept the woman handcuffed to the seat till we got home. The selfish woman caused all this and I hope she has to pay for her selfishness. Her relative who was on the plane swore blind she doesn’t drink. She was trying to save face saying it was a water infection.

    • Betty says:

      Keep your opinions to yourself, Cheryl. Did you know that a water infection can actually kill you. However, my relative has suffered a breakdown, see comment to Marc above.

  11. Betty says:

    Perhaps all the passengers should thank my relative for suffering a breakdown on the plane, as when it landed a fault was found. Did TUI let you all know if the fault was serious, or not!! You should all pray you got home safe unlike my relative who is poorly, after being hospitalised in Bermuda and flown home with the care of a nurse.

  12. shemyta says:

    Aaaa

  13. shemyta says:

    I urge people to claim for the delay. I was a passenger waiting for arrival of this plane to take me and my family to Dominican Republic. TUI denied compensation for the delay claiming extraordinary circumstances. Took it to the the ombudsman and all 6 of us granted €600 euros each. Shame on TUI for not being honest. The major part of the delay was due to technical issues.

    • jojn says:

      Hi,I was on this flight and TUI are not paying out. what ombudsman service did you go through in order to get the compensation please?

  14. Sandra says:

    Has anyone got any compensation yet?
    We have contacted Tui 6 times now
    But just get fobbed off

    • meme says:

      Nope no compensation yet, I have used a claims firm to sort it out TUI are defending the claim, and have been economical with the in the court paperwork (some would say lying by omission) but not me

  15. meme says:

    Compensation has now been paid €600

    in all honesty I would rather have got home on time and not missed a days work

    • Richard says:

      MeMe: Great to hear that you’ve got your compensation. Myself and my partner were on the flight a few rows in front of the “scene”. Have been fobbed off by TUI several times (via Resolver) and now escalating to CEDR with the hope of compensation. Are you able to provide any more details of your claim, e.g. the name/web address of the claims company that you used?

      • meme says:

        sure I used Bott solicitors who took the case on a no win no fee basis I was in the row parallel to the incident not sure if I am low to post the link

        both our claims where paid in full

  16. Richard Fairgrieve says:

    Thanks MeMe. I’ll see how my claim through the CEDR progresses over the next couple of weeks and go from there.

    • Richard Fairgrieve says:

      Took a long time and effort but finally the CEDR adjudicator found in my favour so I’m getting my 1,200 Euros compensation back from TUI for the two of us. Happy now.