Hi Fly plane on a TAAG flight to Lisbon hit by severe turbulence injuring a dozen passengers

A dozen passengers on TAAG Linhas Aéreas de Angola flight DT652 from Luanda to Lisbon, this Thursday, March 23, were assisted by medical teams at Humberto Delgado Airport, in the Portuguese capital, due to injuries caused by the severe turbulence. The flight was performed by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft chartered from Hi Fly Malta (registration 9H-HFA).

The news was announced by Rádio Nacional de Angola, which said that the passengers “experienced moments of terror, when the Hi Fly plane crossed the skies of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), due to severe turbulence that caused 10 injuries caused by objects, such as food service carts, projected through the air”.

TAAG issued an official statement on Thursday night clarifying the situation on board, which is explained by “poor weather conditions en route”.

In the aircraft parking area at Lisbon Airport, various means of assistance were waiting for the passengers to disembark for a first screening of the injured. Most of the injuries were minor.

The statement from TAAG explains that the company triggered an emergency response by sending ambulances and a medical team to Lisbon airport, where the plane landed normally at 20:37 after a journey of 7 hours and 18 minutes.

TAAG also said that flight DT650 from Luanda to Lisbon on Thursday 23 March was postponed to Friday morning (the 24th), due to heavy rain, which made the runway at Luanda Airport slippery, forcing the previous aircraft allocated to this flight to be diverted to Kinshasa (DRC). This flight was operated by Hi Fly Airbus A330-200 registered 9H-HFG.