Lawyers Sulman Hussein and Monica Bäckstrøm were on their way to Bodø on Thursday morning, when the oxygen masks on the plane suddenly fell down. For several minutes, the passengers were unaware of what was happening, says Hussein.
– We heard people who spat and were stressed. There was a rush to panic, Sulman Hussein tells VG.
Together with lawyer colleague Monica Bäckstrøm, he was on his way on a Norwegian flight from Oslo to Bodø for a client visit in Bodø prison. Around 40–50 minutes into the flight, the oxygen masks suddenly fall down, he says.
– We didn’t find out anything in the following minutes. There is no oxygen coming from the masks, and people know nothing about what is happening. More people become panicked and stressed, he says.
Eventually, the passengers must have been told that there had been a technical error which caused the cabin pressure to drop.
Hussein says that there was enough oxygen in the plane for people to breathe well.
– But people didn’t think they had put on the masks correctly, so it was stressful and confusing.
– Only when the masks came out did we think it must be a mistake, but then we see that the cabin crew are starting to put them on. Eventually we got information that there was low pressure, and people got quite scared, says Bäckstrøm to VG.
She also points out that it took a long time before they received information about what happened, but still thinks the cabin crew did a good job.
– They went around and talked to the passengers and reassured them.
Delays
Press contact at Norwegian Anna-Lena Nordling confirms the incident to VG:
– There was low pressure in the cabin, and then the masks come down automatically. The plane was diverted and a decision was made to land to check that everyone was okay, she says.
The flight was diverted to Kiruna in Sweden, before being diverted again and landing at Harstad/Narvik Airport Evenes. Hussein says that it must have taken around an hour for the passengers to have been distributed to different planes. He himself had to cancel the client visit.
– There were delays, but I can’t say anything beyond that. But when that happens, the first priority is always to get people rebooked on other flights, says Nordling.
– Silence from the staff
– It was an unpleasant experience, and little information, says Hussein.
He says that there must have been very little information from the cabin crew about what was going on.
– It was completely silent from the staff for the first seven minutes, you were left to yourself in the most dramatic minutes. It was probably terribly uncomfortable for a lot of people.
Nordling in Norwegian says she understands that it was found frightening for the passengers.
– It can be experienced as very dramatic when you sit there, and when a few minutes pass before you find out anything. But the most important thing of all when this happens is to take care of all the ice instruments and check the situation, says Nordling and adds:
– That will always be prioritized over providing information.
– I fully understand that it can take a long time before you get information, but that is usually because the most important thing is to ensure that the passengers are safe.
She emphasizes that no one was injured as a result of the incident.
