Planes postpone landing to make way for infant's medical emergency

Hangzhou International Airport asked several airplanes to postpone landing in order to make way for an airplane carrying a 4-month-old baby in need of emergency medical aid on Nov 9.

Juneyao Airlines Flight H01094, flying from Kunming to Shanghai, made an unexpected landing in Hangzhou on the morning of Nov 9, after the infant, Taotao, began to develop worsening symptoms on the flight. In order to make way for the unplanned landing, five to six airplanes were ordered to hover and wait rather than landing as scheduled.

Air traffic controllers also guided the flight to land on a runway close to the airport to minimize time spent taxiing, Qianjiang Evening News reported.

The sick baby was then immediately transferred to an ambulance, where emergency treatment was administered even before the vehicle reached the hospital. Taotao was suffering from severe pneumonia and congenital heart disease, which were worsened by the flight. His family was taking him to seek medical attention in Shanghai when the incident occurred.

Sadly, the baby passed away despite efforts made to save his life.