Updated:
The airport operations in Palma de Mallorca were shut down for several hours on Friday evening. An incident involving an alleged medical emergency wreaked havoc.
- A plane had to make a stopover in Mallorca on Friday evening because of an alleged medical emergency.
- In the meantime, 24 people left the plane and fled across the runway.
- There has now been an arrest. Some missing passengers are still being sought.
Update from November 6th, 5:35 p.m .: After the chaotic scenes at the airport in Mallorca on Friday evening, the first arrest has taken place. The plane was forced to make a stopover because one of the passengers allegedly suffered a diabetes shock. However, when he arrived at the hospital, it turned out that the man was not missing anything. A short time later it was loud dpa arrested by the Spanish authorities.
Of the 24 people who had used the chaos surrounding the medical emergency to get out of the plane and flee across the tarmac, 12 are now in police custody. The rest of them are still being sought. There is still no solid evidence that all of this was a planned attempt to enter Spain illegally. However, this cannot be ruled out, according to the authorities.
The arrested people would now be treated like migrants arriving by boat from North Africa: first they would be taken to an initial reception center, later they would be taken to mainland Spain. Then follow the procedure for repatriation to the country of origin or the application for asylum. However, the incident always caused chaos.
Mallorca: people suddenly leave planes and sprint across the runway
Original article from November 6th: Palma de Mallorca – Curious scenes took place on Friday evening a few hours before midnight on the tarmac of the airport on the Spanish holiday island of Palma de Mallorca. At around 8.30 p.m., an Air Arabia plane asked permission for an emergency landing at Son Sant Joan Airport. The machine was on its way from Casablanca (Morocco) to Istanbul. Then the crew was forced to make a stopover due to a medical emergency.
Chaos at the airport of Mallorca: medical emergency just faked
According to the Spanish newspaper El País there was a person on board who suffered a diabetic coma. The person was taken to hospital immediately after landing. The medical examinations produced a surprising result: the man was very healthy and had no health problems whatsoever. Then why all the drama?
The stopover of the plane and waiting for the ambulance provided an opportunity: around 20 passengers used the stop to escape. They got off the plane and ran onto the tarmac. As El País reported, some of them managed to get over the airport fence, according to the local police.
Suspected illegal entry into Spain
The investigators suspect that the whole incident was by no means pure chaos and coincidence. They believe that all of this was part of a plan to illegally enter Spain. The man who faked a medical emergency was arrested by the police.
After around three hours, the airport operator “Aena” tweeted that airport operations had resumed. In the meantime, 13 aircraft had to be diverted to Palma de Mallorca and 16 other departing aircraft had long delays.
📢 El #Aeropuerto de #Palma de #Mallorca retoma la operativa.
➡️ Vuelos de llegada desviados: 13
– 5 a JT #Barcelona–#ElPrat
– 4 a #Ibiza
– 2 a #Menorca
– 1 a AS #Madrid–#Barajas
– 1 a #Valencia https://t.co/w0YnXIjJDQ– Aena (@aena) November 5, 2021
List of rubric lists: © IMAGO / Agencia EFE / Atienza
#Chaos #stopover #people #suddenly #leave #planes #sprint #tarmac