KARACHI: A Dhaka-bound commercial flight made a medical emergency landing at Karachi airport after the health of a Bangladeshi woman deteriorated mid-flight early on Friday morning, officials said.

While the patient was taken to a hospital for treatment, over 150 passengers had to wait for 10 hours to resume their journey after it transpired that the Boeing 737 also developed a technical fault.

A spokesperson for the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said that Flydubai’s flight FZ 501, operating from Dubai to Dhaka, landed at Jinnah International Airport at 3:20am.

“A PAA medical officer responded swiftly and reached the aircraft within minutes to assess the condition of the affected passenger, Ms Begum, holder of a Bangladeshi passport. She was promptly shifted to the Aga Khan University Hospital for further treatment,” the spokesperson stated.

He said that at around 5:15am, the aircraft developed a technical issue, prompting authorities to move all 159 passengers onboard to the transit lounge.

Later, a replacement cockpit crew, along with a technical team, arrived from Dubai to resolve the matter. Following clearance, the flight departed for Dhaka at 1:21pm.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2025