14 people aboard an Emirates scheduled flight from Perth to Dubai have received medical attention after the aircraft, an Airbus A380, encountered severe turbulence.
Emirates EK421 Perth – Dubai
Emirates flight EK421, an Airbus A380 ‘super jumbo’ operating from Perth, Western Australia to Dubai, encountered severe turbulence during the cruise. The flight was over the Persian Gulf at the time of the reported incident.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, a spokesperson for the airline Emirates stated that the aircraft “briefly encountered unexpected turbulence mid-flight”
Severe Turbulence over Persian Gulf
The severity of the in-flight turbulence caused some passengers to hit the cabin ceiling, causing damage to the cabin interior.
Photographs from passengers have surfaced on Twitter X, showing the severity of damage to the cabin interior.
It is understood that operational crew provided first aid and assistance during the onwards flight. The aircraft was subsequently met by medical support staff on landing in Dubai.
14 occupants of the flight received medical attention after the aircraft landed on Wednesday morning, with several reporting injuries.
In-Flight Turbulence
A 2023 study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters has found that severe clear-air turbulence has increased by 55% over the past four decades.
This can be attributed to a range of factors. An increase in the sheer number of commercial flights means a potential increase in the number of aircraft transiting through regions where turbulence may occur.
Improved weather forecasting permits the detection and avoidance of regions of turbulence. However, it also holds the potential for an increase in incidences of reporting, as pilots are now more likely to become aware of it.
Another study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change in 2017, predicted that the effects of climate change could cause clear-air turbulence to increase by as much as 50% by the end of the century.
Click the banner to subscribe to our weekly Emergencies and Incidents newsletter.
Click the photo to join our WhatsApp channel so then you can stay up to date with everything going on in the aviation industry!
