British Airways flight attendant stood down after releasing emergency slide

In a bizarre twist of events, the emergency slide of a British Airways flight was mistakenly set off on its arrival at Madrid from London Heathrow.

The error resulted in the air hostess being stood down and forced to relinquish her professional role for a passenger seat on her journey home.

John MacIntyre, a passenger aboard the flight, shared his dismay with The Sun, saying: “So my flight from Madrid to Heathrow looks like it isn’t leaving at all or may leave with limited passengers.

“This is due to the emergency slide being ‘accidentally’ deployed on arrival. I was hoping to go home.”

“We’ve apologized to customers for the delay and made sure they were able to continue their journey as soon as possible,” BA remarked, addressing the mishap.

The incident marks the second of its kind in just a few weeks, as earlier in the month a similar gaffe was made, when the emergency slide was triggered just as a plane was about to lift off from Heathrow to Austin, Texas.

The incident prompted a flurry of emergency services descending on Terminal 5, and required the plane’s replacement and the procurement of a new emergency slide for the original aircraft.

BA authorities reportedly sent the flight crew member for remedial training – a standard protocol for any staff member who misfires a slide.

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