On a flight to Brussels
Captain reports emergency – von der Leyen intervenes
November 20, 2024 – 11:21 p.mReading time: 2 min.
Ursula von der Leyen helped with an emergency on a flight to Brussels. The pilot had asked for people with medical expertise.
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen caused a stir on a flight from Zurich to Brussels. The politician, who is currently primarily busy getting her proposed candidates for the EU Commission through the European Parliament, apparently took courageous action in an emergency.
As the Swiss newspaper “20 Minutes” reports, there was a medical emergency on board the Swiss flight LX780 on Wednesday afternoon. The pilot made an announcement looking for a person with medical expertise.
A passenger told the newspaper that he then saw Ursula von der Leyen rushing to help. A spokeswoman for the Commission President confirmed this to the newspaper.
“We were actually on our way back from Rio to Brussels today when another passenger required medical attention during the flight. As is usual in such cases, the airline’s on-board staff asked if anyone among the passengers had medical knowledge,” said Arianna Podesta, Deputy chief spokeswoman of the EU Commission told “20 Minutes”
“The President then provided assistance to the passenger in distress until we landed and medical personnel took over care.” The airline Swiss only confirmed that there was an emergency on board the flight and that a passenger came to help. It was not stated what form of first aid the CDU politician used or what caused the passenger to become ill. The plane landed in Brussels as planned and, according to the eyewitness, von der Leyen was then picked up by a black limousine.
Von der Leyen studied medicine, received her doctorate in 1991 and worked as an assistant doctor in Hanover from 1988 to 1992. She later worked as a research assistant at the Hanover Medical School and was Minister for Social Affairs, Women, Family and Health in Lower Saxony.
Swiss
