British Airways steward ‘suddenly drops dead’ in front of passengers before flight
A British Airways (BA) steward ‘suddenly dropped dead’ moments before a flight was set to take off from London Heathrow.
The staffer, 52, was helping holidaymakers get comfortable in their seats on New Year’s Eve ahead of the trip to Hong Kong on the evening of December 30.
With the doors locked ahead of the roughly 15-hour journey, the pilot of flight BA31 had requested to push back to head to the runway when the cabin crew member fell to the ground, according to The Sun.
Speaking over the Tannoy, the captain pleaded for medical assistance as a flyer rushed to the rear gallery to administer first aid at 5.45pm.
Police and emergency services attended the scene but the staff member was pronounced dead at the scene, the tabloid reported.
A source said the staffer had ‘suddenly dropped dead’.
No further details about him were given, though the insider described him as having ‘no reported underlying health issues’.
He was a ‘family man’, the insider said, with his family left ‘devastated and shocked’ by the incident.
‘It has been a traumatic festive period for BA’s flying team. Everyone is deeply upset,’ they added.
The flight was delayed overnight, with passengers being booked into local hotels and departing on the evening of New Year’s Eve instead on a plane with different pilots and crew.
According to the monitoring website FlightRadar24, the plane landed in Hong Kong at about 12.25pm local time.
A BA spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘Our thoughts are with our colleagues’ friends and family at this incredibly sad time.’
In a statement, the London Ambulance Service said: ‘We were called at 5.45pm on Saturday, December 30 to reports of an incident at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, Hounslow.
‘We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, a medic in a fast response car, a paramedic on a bicycle and an incident response officer. We also dispatched a trauma team in a car from Thames Valley Air Ambulance.
‘Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a patient was pronounced dead at the scene.’
The Metropolitan Police has been approached for comment.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.