Travelers Experiencing Nasal and Ear Bleeding on Flights
Individuals traveling on a flight from Salt Lake City to Portland faced a tense journey. Shortly after departure, numerous passengers reported feeling pain in their ears and observed bleeding from their noses and ears. The issue seemed to stem from a technical malfunction.
Jaci Purser, a passenger on the Delta Air Lines flight, recounted her experience to KSL-TV and CNN. She explained, "Our ears started hurting really badly. Everyone around us was touching their ears, people's ears were bleeding, people's noses were bleeding." Purser described the sensation as if someone had punctured her ear.
She further elaborated, "I touched my ear and pulled my hand back, and there was blood on it." She was joined by her colleagues and other passengers in experiencing similar discomfort, suggestive of an issue with cabin pressure.
Caryn Allen, another passenger, described her husband's discomfort. "I looked over at him, and he was hunched over with both hands covering his ears," she said. Allen then noticed a fellow passenger with a notable nosebleed, who was receiving aid from nearby individuals.
"We deeply regret the inconvenience"
A representative of the airline acknowledged the event, stating that during flight 1203 from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Portland, Oregon, at an altitude above 10,000 feet (more than 3 kilometers), the cabin pressure could not be regulated properly. The aircraft returned to Salt Lake City, where Delta staff attended to the passengers' immediate needs. The airline expressed its regret for the experience in a statement, saying, "We deeply regret the inconvenience."
The exact number of individuals affected is unclear, but passengers were greeted by medical personnel upon landing. Ten individuals underwent examination or treatment, though no severe injuries were reported.
The cause of the pressure issue remains unidentified, but Delta's technicians have reportedly rectified the problem. The airplane was temporarily out of commission on Sunday morning but was back in service by the following day, according to Delta. The FAA will conduct an investigation into the matter.
The European Union expressed concern over the incident, as Delta Air Lines is a major transatlantic carrier. Many EU citizens travel on these flights regularly.
Despite the incident, the European Union encourages its citizens to continue flying, assuring them of the safety standards set by international aviation regulators, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
