The flight was also cancelled due to a “medical emergency”.(Representative pic)
A British Airways flight attendant died after he collapsed in front of passengers just as the plane was about to take off from London. According to The Sun, the flight was about to depart London’s Heathrow Airport on New Year’s Eve for Hong Kong when the 52-year-old flight attendant tragically collapsed on the plane. The plane’s door had already been locked and passengers were sitting in their seats when a crew member, whose name hasn’t been revealed, collapsed in the back of the aircraft.
The Sun reported that a passenger trained in first aid tried to save the man as the pilot urgently called for medics. However, the flight attendant died at the scene. The flight was also cancelled due to a “medical emergency”.
“Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crew, a patient was pronounced dead at the scene,” the London Ambulance Service said in a comment to Metro UK.
No further details about the crew member were given, though The Sun reported that he had no underlying health issues. The flight was delayed until the following day with different pilots and crew in charge.
“Our thoughts are with our colleagues’ family and friends at this difficult time,” British Airways told the outlet.
According to Fox News, this is the second British Airways flight attendant to die in recent weeks. Another crew member, also 52, was found dead in his hotel room on December 23 in between flights. The flight which was heading from Newark to London was called off as a result.
“Crew are frantic. These were two healthy people who suddenly dropped dead. There were no reported underlying health issues,” a source told The Sun about the deaths.
“The crew were family men, and leave devastated families in shock and disbelief. It has been a traumatic festive period for BA’s flying team. Everyone is deeply upset,” they added.
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Meanwhile, in another incident last year, a 73-year-old woman aboard a British Airways flight who was thought to be asleep died after suffering a heart attack mid-air. The incident took place in September on a flight from London to Nice.
The New York Post reported that in June, a British man also died on a flight from London to New York after suffering an asthma attack and dropping his inhaler. 25-year-old Shimoin Brauer fell unconscious when he panicked and his inhaler slipped from his fingers about 45 minutes before his flight was scheduled to land in the United States. Crew members attempted to give him oxygen and perform CPR, but were unable to revive him.