The Lufthansa aircraft operating flight LH 0722 on the Munich–Beijing route made an emergency landing at Almaty International Airport due to a medical incident that occurred during the flight. The incident was reported to have taken place on Friday morning.
In a statement by the Press Service of the Kazakhstan Civil Aviation Authority, it was noted that on 26 December 2026 a passenger on board suddenly became unwell and lost consciousness. Following an assessment of the situation, the crew decided to divert to Almaty.
The statement said: “After the aircraft made an emergency landing at Almaty International Airport, medical teams and ambulance personnel were immediately dispatched to the scene.” However, checks confirmed that the passenger had died during the flight.
Authorities reported that following the mandatory landing in Almaty, the aircraft was refuelled and took off again for its destination, Beijing, at 07:56.
Meanwhile, the Transport Police Department also issued an official statement on the incident. It stated that a criminal investigation had been launched by the airport security unit and that, according to initial assessments, the cause of death was acute heart failure. It was noted that the deceased passenger was a foreign national.
It was reported that the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
