Elderly passenger dies on board delayed Etihad flight

Hotel accommodation has been arranged for other guests on-board the flight, which had already been delayed because of dense fog at Abu Dhabi airport.

Etihad Airways flight EY23 from Abu Dhabi arrives at Düsseldorf airport after having been diverted to Vienna. DPA

ABU DHABI // A 73-year-old male passenger died on Saturday on-board an aircraft travelling from Abu Dhabi to Düsseldorf, which had to be diverted to Vienna.

"After keeping passengers on the plane for more than 13 hours last night, flight EY23 to Düsseldorf has just diverted to Vienna with a passenger receiving CPR from the crew," said a passenger, in an email to The National.

On Sunday, an Etihad Airways spokesman confirmed the death of one of its passengers.

“Etihad Airways flight EY23 from Abu Dhabi to Düsseldorf was diverted to Vienna on Saturday, January 3, 2015, due to an on-board medical emergency involving a 73-year old male passenger. A medical team met the aircraft upon landing to assist the passenger on-board. However, he was pronounced deceased,” the spokesman said.

“We offer our deepest condolences to his family. Hotel accommodation has been arranged for other guests on-board the flight and alternative transportation is being arranged between Vienna and Düsseldorf for tomorrow.”

Meanwhile Etihad has published its schedule for Sunday to allow the airline to recover from operational disruption caused by the severe fog at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Twenty return flights have been cancelled, with a number of flights subject to revised times.

The airline is urging any passengers who can defer their travel to, from, or through Abu Dhabi, up to and including Tuesday, January 6 to rebook on later flights.