A team of dedicated staff at London Gatwick were recently thanked by a passenger for saving his life after he went into cardiac arrest at the airport.

Passenger Eddie Barnes was travelling through London Gatwick’s North Terminal security area on 24 October at 4:20 am, bound for Spain, when he suddenly suffered a cardiac arrest.

In a swift and coordinated effort, a total of twelve staff from security, passenger operations, and the London Gatwick Fire Service responded immediately, administering life-saving CPR for more than 15 minutes and using a defibrillator to restart his heart before he was transported to hospital by ambulance.

Eddie has since made a full recovery and recently reunited with the team who saved his life to express his gratitude. He was given a tour of the airport’s airside fire station and had the opportunity to personally thank those involved.

Eddie Barnes shared his experience:

The cardiac arrest that I suffered must be the most profound experience for myself and those close to me and yet had the team at London Gatwick not successfully applied CPR, I would never have known a thing about it.

I had absolutely no warning when it happened, I simply dropped dead.

I am told that for more than 15 minutes CPR was applied in the course of which I received 16 broken ribs and the paddles were applied five times (and once more in the ambulance).

The heart surgeon informed me the number of ribs broken bears testimony to how well the CPR was applied.

It is hard work applying CPR and I will be eternally grateful to the team for not giving up.

Strangely the experience has not left me with any psychological hang-ups. By the time I knew what had happened it was too late to worry and I have every confidence that the team at St Thomas’s who supported me after I left Gatwick have dealt with the problem to prevent a recurrence.

All passenger operations staff at London Gatwick are provided with first aid training, including CPR, while firefighters from the on-site fire service are trained as advanced immediate emergency care responders, able to provide a higher level of medical care. The importance of this training is underscored by the 2,832 first aid calls the Passenger Operations Support team responded to last year, ranging from cardiac arrests to managing queues.

Scott Ronaldson, one of the first responders, reflected on the incident:

At the time Przemyslaw and I were close to finishing a night shift and were doing our usual lap to make sure everything was running smoothly. It was when we were talking to security we noticed screens being pulled across.

When we got to Eddie we noticed he wasn’t breathing. I tore his shirt off and commenced CPR with my colleague Przemyslaw until the rest of our team came with a defibrillator.

I have had a few instances where CPR is required and every time, I know I can rely on our amazing team to drop everything and come running to support. Thanks to the training we receive from the London Gatwick Fire Service we are well prepared for these circumstances and feel comfortable even in the worst cases.

Przemyslaw Karpicki also shared his experience:

Just as our night shift was ending, I was with Scott when we saw a passenger collapse. We didn’t hesitate, we ran straight to him. Security called us to respond, but by then, we were already there, ready to help.

Scott started CPR immediately since Eddie wasn’t breathing. Moments later, two more of our colleagues joined us with a defibrillator. Our training from the London Gatwick Fire Service kicked in, and they arrived shortly after to provide the next level of care. I knew I was surrounded by my colleagues from the passenger operations team and could rely on them completely.

At that moment, during CPR, I wasn’t thinking about my feelings, I was focused entirely on helping Eddie. But when I got home at the end of my shift, the reality hit me. Together with my colleagues, we did something incredible. We gave someone a chance to live, and that feels incredibly special.”

For further information about flights from Gatwick, please contact your Global Travel Management Account Manager.