We’ve seen some pretty extreme cases of severe turbulence over the last couple of weeks… in June, a flight attendant was filmed flying into the air and hitting the ceiling when a Boeing 737 hit a pocket of rough air, while only a couple of days ago, 37 passengers onboard an Air Canada flight to Sydney were injured when their plane hit clear air turbulence.
Thirty of those passengers were hospitalised and nine were said to be in a serious condition.
And now we’ve got a video showing what happens when severe turbulence hits the iconic upper deck lounge of an Emirates A380. The incident is said to have taken place on Friday when Emirates flight EK449 from Dubai to Auckland, New Zealand was thrown violently around by turbulence.
The lounge area is a huge mess, with all the normal trays of sandwiches and cakes that line the bar now on the floor. The galley area behind the lounge, though, is in an even worse condition. A tray of glasses has been thrown to the floor but even worse, trolleys have toppled and to show just how violent the turbulence must have been, you can even see a ceiling exit sign that has been knocked to the floor.
It’s not known whether the crew were anticipating turbulence, although had that been the case, you’d likely expect trolleys and other service equipment to be cleared away to avoid exactly this kind of scene. As for the lounge, well, that’s a lot harder to secure for turbulence – especially when it hits unexpectedly but it just goes to show how having lots of things on display and not locked down can very quickly result in this kind of damage.
We haven’t heard any word of injuries, so here’s hoping that all passengers were safely buckled in when the turbulence struck. Emirates hasn’t yet publicly acknowledged the incident and the news hasn’t yet been covered by the official UAE news agency or the General Civil Aviation Authority.
