Palma airport to be pioneer in new scheme

PALMA'S Son Sant Joan airport, together with those of Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Seville, will be taking part in a pioneer scheme aimed at helping passengers who become ill during a flight. Sources from the medical service at Prat airport in Barcelona said that at present, when somebody becomes ill on board a flight, the medical services on the ground are notified by the company or the control tower, but medical staff never know what is wrong with the patient until the plane has landed. “It could be anything from a fainting fit to a heart attack,” the sources said. Under the new service, devised by three doctors of the Spanish Airport Health Association (AESA), cabin crews will have a health certificate divided into various sections (is the patient conscious or unconscious, breathing, pulse, or pain). They will mark each section from 0 to 3, depending on the serious of the patient's condition, and these numbers will then be transmitted to the medical service at the airport of destination.