Passenger of Brussels Airlines flight from Madrid fainted due to air conditioning issue

A Brussels Airlines flight from Madrid to Brussels experienced a malfunction with the air conditioning system, causing passengers to sweat profusely and one person to faint while the plane was still on the ground, according to the Belgian newspaper HLN.

Brussels Airlines flight SN3728 was due to depart from Madrid to Brussels at 17:35 yesterday (1 Aug). Despite promises of a quick fix, the issue persisted, and the cabin temperature reached 45 degrees Celsius under the Madrid sun. After an hour and a half, the pilot of the Airbus A320 registered OO-SNB (the one with the “Tintin” livery) decided to take off, but passengers were still uncomfortable and some fell ill.

The airline later explained that the problem was with the system that activates the air conditioning when the engines are off. The passengers were offered water and ice cubes, but the situation was challenging, and many were dissatisfied with the airline’s handling of the incident.

A passenger who used to work at the airport expressed concern about the lack of compensation for the delay, as it was intentionally kept under the minimum three-hour requirement.

Brussels Airlines apologised for the inconvenience caused and mentioned that the air conditioning worked normally once the engines were started.