Sir, – While on a recent Aer Lingus flight from Lisbon to Dublin, my travelling companion took ill just as the aircraft was approaching the Irish coast. To my dismay, there was no defibrillator on board. Despite the best efforts of two passenger doctors, my friend never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead on arrival at Beaumont hospital minutes after touchdown.
The argument that defibrillators are not necessary on European flights because aircraft are always within 20 minutes of landing sites in an emergency simply does not hold, as my friend’s life slipped away during the vital 10-15 minutes between flying over the Wexford coast and arrival in Dublin.
I sincerely hope a ruling making the provision of defibrillators mandatory on board all flights, and not just long-haul international flights, is made as soon as possible. – Yours, etc,