Aaron Motsoaledi puts on doctor cap in plane medical emergency (after his credentials are vouched for!)

Minister of home affairs Aaron Motsoaledi, a medical doctor by profession, is being praised for saving a man who fell unconscious while suffering a low blood sugar emergency on a plane from East London to Johannesburg.

Motsoaledi put on his doctor cap after he heard a commotion at the back of a FlySafair flight on Monday evening involving a man in his 30s.

“I was sleeping in front and heard a commotion at the back. When I woke up I found someone who had low blood sugar and they struggled to give him a sugar solution. The airline staff were looking for someone to attend to the emergency and I told them I’m a doctor,” Motsoaledi told TimesLIVE.

“They told me to produce papers but I’m no longer practising. Someone on the airline vouched for me and said I was a minister and doctor. The staff members were very doubtful.

“I rubbed the glucose powder on the tongue and it was immediately absorbed. That’s the training from back when there was no technical training, you relied on clinical acumen and judgment. There’s no equipment on the plane. You rely on what you know.”

He said when the body experiences low blood sugar, it loses power like a car out of petrol.

“He was disorientated for most of the time. His wife told me she would take him to hospital. When I went to say goodbye he was still disorientated,” Motsoaledi said.

Ndzipho Kalipa, a former member of the Gauteng provincial legislature, took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to thank the minister for his assistance.

“On behalf of all passengers on board a FlySafair flight from East London to Joburg, we salute a selfless and heroic intervention by minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi who attended to a sick passenger on the flight,” said Kalipa.

Political analyst Makhosini Mgitywa also attested to the minister's selflessness.

“Last night I was on a domestic flight back to Gauteng. Mid-flight a passenger sitting a row behind me had a medical emergency. I heard the passenger near him shout, ‘he’s not breathing’. The FlySafair crew reacted swiftly to manage the crisis. Two doctors sprang to action.

“The doctors stabilised the patient, assisted by the crew, who were superb.

“Passengers who witnessed this started clapping. It was something. I don’t know who the first doctor was, but on behalf of the other passengers, I thank him for his service. The second doctor to respond was sitting further in the front. He was home affairs minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi. I also thank him for his service.” 

TimesLIVE