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Kerala nurses save passenger’s life mid-air on Abu Dhabi flight
The mid-air medical emergency occurred on an Air Arabia flight from Kochi to Abu Dhabi.
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Staff Reporter - Wed, 29, Oct 2025
- 16:21 EDT
- 22
Representative Image / Unsplash
Two nurses from Kerala on their first international flight to the UAE helped save the life of a fellow passenger who suffered a cardiac arrest mid-air on an Air Arabia flight from Kochi to Abu Dhabi earlier this month.
The incident took place on Oct. 13 aboard Flight 3L128, shortly after take-off. The nurses, Abhijith Jees, 26, from Wayanad, and Ajeesh Nelson, 29, from Chengannur, were travelling to join Response Plus Medical (RPM) in Abu Dhabi as registered nurses.
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According to Abhijith, the medical emergency began when he noticed a passenger gasping for breath. “When I looked, I saw a man unresponsive. I checked his pulse, but there was none. I knew he was in cardiac arrest,” he said.
The passenger, a 34-year-old man from Thrissur, had collapsed during the flight. Abhijith began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while alerting the cabin crew. Ajeesh, seated nearby, assisted him. “There was no time to think,” Ajeesh said. “We just started CPR and continued until he responded.”
After two rounds of CPR, the man regained a pulse and began breathing. A doctor on board, Arif Abdul Khadir, assisted the nurses in stabilizing the passenger, starting intravenous fluids, and monitoring his condition until the aircraft landed safely in Abu Dhabi.
The passenger was handed over to airport medical personnel upon arrival and was later reported to be in stable condition.
The two nurses had previously worked in hospitals in Kerala before joining RPM. Their actions came to attention after another passenger, Brint Anto, an RPM employee, reported the incident to the company.
RPM later commended the nurses for their response. “They have shown presence of mind and professionalism in a high-stress situation,” said Rohil Raghavan, chief executive officer of Response Plus Holding, which operates RPM.
Mohamed Ali, medical director of RPM Projects, said the case illustrated the importance of timely intervention in cardiac emergencies. “Every second counts,” he said. “Early recognition and prompt CPR can make the difference between life and death.”
The passenger’s family later expressed gratitude to the nurses for their actions, saying, “They were strangers to us, yet they gave our loved one another chance at life.”
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