British Airways flight diverted after 25 crew became ill
A British Airways flight from San Francisco to London was diverted to Vancouver after 25 members of the cabin crew became unwell, the airline said on Tuesday.
Twenty-five crew were admitted to local hospitals as a precaution but had now been discharged, British Airways spokeswoman Michele Kropf said.
She said no customers were taken to hospital and that the crew had not been treated for smoke inhalation.
Passenger Steve Lowy told CBC News about two hours into the flight the crews started quickly clearing away dinner.
"They suddenly cleared the trays away, and said that we were going to do a landing in Calgary due to the fact that there was a technical issue with the plane and a number of the cabin staff weren't feeling well."
"I gather afterwards there were issues on the lower deck, but you couldn't hear anything or see anything. No alarms going off," Lowy said.
"I don't think the crew knew a lot about what was going on, or if they did, they didn't want to alarm anyone…We just sat there in silence, being very British," he said.
British Airways did not comment on the cause of the problem.
"The flight from San Francisco diverted to Vancouver after members of the cabin crew became unwell. The cabin crew were checked as a precaution at local hospitals before being discharged," the airline said in an emailed statement.
The airline said that its Vancouver staff had arranged hotel accommodation for affected customers and will book them on alternative flights as soon as possible.
The diverted flight landed in Vancouver on Monday at around 11:30pm (7:30pm Tuesday NZDT), said Vancouver Airport spokesman is Chris Devauld, who referred questions about additional details to the airline.
"The aircraft landed safely and British Airways is now working with passengers," he said.
Earlier this year, passengers told of the terrifying moment their flight was forced to make an emergency landing after up to six crew members became ill.
The incident occurred on an American Airlines flight destined for Los Angeles from London's Heathrow Airport in January.
According to reports in the MailOnline, one flight attendant fainted while five other cabin crew were struck down with the mystery illness.
What do you think the source of the crew’s illness could have been? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Written by Matt Scuffham and Jeffrey Hodgson. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
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