differing health standards for Air France

[svstrider]

Not sure whether this is the place for this post but here goes.
two weeks ago whilst working in West Africa (don't ask me why, but never again) as a doctor, I received a call that my client's employee, who was due to fly back to UK that night, was ill with a fever and would be coming to my clinic for a checkup. After waiting for 5 hours I eventually discovered that he had persuaded the company driver to take him to the airport instead. I went to the airport and retrieved my patient from the departure lounge. In my medical opinion, he was looking like cough - fever, unable to stand, tachycardic, hypotensive, sweaty et al. Faliparum malria was on the list of possible diagnoses. I told him that he would need to return to the clinic for more tests and overnight admission. He declined my invitation and signed a medical release. I told him that I would be duty bound to inform Air France that they were carrying a passenger with a fever who might pose an infection risk to other passengers. i anticipated that AF would refuse to fly him. How wrong I was.
I sought out the AF duty manager and voiced my concerns. His reply was that "if he could walk then AF would carry him! "

Post script - my sources inform me that on the flight back to Paris he proceeded to get even drunker, smoked in the toilet and assaulted a cabin attendant. He was offloaded in Mauritania where he cooled his heels in prison until he was extradited a few days later. Obviously my diagnosis was wrong but AF needs their standards upgraded.

 

[yohy?!]

Not sure whether this is the place for this post but here goes. two weeks ago whilst working in West Africa (don't ask me why, but never again) as a doctor, I received a call that my client's employee, who was due to fly back to UK that night, was ill with a fever and would be coming to my clinic for a checkup. After waiting for 5 hours I eventually discovered that he had persuaded the company driver to take him to the airport instead. I went to the airport and retrieved my patient from the departure lounge. In my medical opinion, he was looking like cough - fever, unable to stand, tachycardic, hypotensive, sweaty et al. Faliparum malria was on the list of possible diagnoses. I told him that he would need to return to the clinic for more tests and overnight admission. He declined my invitation and signed a medical release. I told him that I would be duty bound to inform Air France that they were carrying a passenger with a fever who might pose an infection risk to other passengers. i anticipated that AF would refuse to fly him. How wrong I was. I sought out the AF duty manager and voiced my concerns. His reply was that "if he could walk then AF would carry him! " Post script - my sources inform me that on the flight back to Paris he proceeded to get even drunker, smoked in the toilet and assaulted a cabin attendant. He was offloaded in Mauritania where he cooled his heels in prison until he was extradited a few days later. Obviously my diagnosis was wrong but AF needs their standards upgraded.

Fascinating post, more damning evidence on why AF is part of 'ScaryTeam'

 

[anat0l]

When you mentioned "Africa" I thought "yep, that's the end of the story". I don't think it would've mattered which airline it was.

Poor sod, but he deserved everything that was thrown at him.

Incidentally, with the dismissive tone of the AF official at the airport, was your duty discharged then (if you had any to start with)? Because after that, I hardly see what would implicate you - if someone else on the flight was infected and took AF to court, it's AF's problem - period - and the signed waiver (plus the fact the infector was accepted oft boarding anyway) would've been the nail in the coffin (no pun intended).

Sent from my GT-I9300 using AustFreqFly

 

[svstrider]

I was actually quite astonished that a carrier would take the passenger after receiving a medical opinion that he posed a possible infection threat to their other passengers, let alone the risk of having to divert if his condition deteriorated. My aim was to get him off the flight and into medical care where he could be investigated and apparently sobered up. He could have been booked onto another flight the next day at no cost to himself as his employer is welll aware of their duty of care to their employees. He took the risk and for other reasons did not arrive at his destination as quickly as he hoped when he departed.

I never cease to be amazed at how flexible airline "rules' depend on geography. In Australia, "attitude" can get you forcibly removed from a plane by police officers, while in the 3rd world, anything goes, up to a point.

He got back to the UK EVENTUALLY. but has no job to return to. I am sure when I was 32 years old I was a lot more responsible BUT can't really remember, at this point in my life.

 

[tuapekastar]

Interesting story and I'm moderately confident AF 'head office' would not necessarily be overly pleased with the staffer's handling of things (Note, I'm not suggesting or urging you to report it, that's a PITA and you would probably not get a satisfactory response anyway). AF climbs higher on my 'do not fly' list.