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The Swiss aircraft made an unscheduled departure for Almaty.
Following the unscheduled landing of a Swiss flight in Kazakhstan, there is now an update: the aircraft from Seoul landed safely in Zurich on Friday morning. However, the co-pilot, who had previously suffered a medical emergency, will remain in Almaty for the time being.
The Swiss Airbus A350, which had to make an unscheduled landing in Almaty on Wednesday due to a medical emergency in the cockpit, is back in Switzerland.
According to the airline, the aircraft landed safely in Zurich on Friday morning at 6.45 a.m. under flight number LX7123.
There were 221 passengers and 13 crew members on board. Six passengers had organized their onward journey from Almaty themselves, Swiss writes.
The unscheduled landing was triggered by a medical emergency suffered by the co-pilot during the flight from Seoul to Zurich.
According to Swiss, there happened to be three doctors on board who immediately administered first aid. On the recommendation of the doctors, the crew finally decided to divert to Almaty in Kazakhstan so that the pilot could receive medical treatment quickly.
The sick co-pilot is still on site in Almaty. Another crew member also remained with him. The airline explains that it is in close contact with its colleague and is "relieved and very happy that he is well".
The incident attracted a great deal of attention on Wednesday. Flightradar24 showed how the aircraft suddenly deviated from its route and activated transponder code 7700. This signals a general air emergency.
Shortly afterwards, the Airbus began its approach to Almaty and landed there safely.
Swiss acknowledges that the unplanned stopover and the several-day layover in Kazakhstan had a significant impact on passengers' travel plans.
However, the airline emphasizes that the health of the crew member had top priority. At the same time, Swiss would like to thank its own staff and employees of the Lufthansa Group in Almaty for their commitment during the extraordinary situation.
