Passengers were terrified after people in hazmat suits boarded their plane upon making an emergency landing. This worrying incident happened on a flight from London that made an emergency landing in Italy, according to the Daily Mail.
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Plane Makes Emergency Landing With Hazmat Suits Boarding After Passengers Get Sick
The chaos began when 61-year-old Melanie Wells took a flight with her 19-year-old Daughter Imogen. The duo was taking an eight-day trip to Egypt, but soon after boarding, Melania started to feel sick.
Although the mother chalked it up to the plane’s temperature, everyone began to panic when more passengers and flight crew began feeling ill. Due to the chaos and panic, the pilots diverted the plane to Venice.
Not knowing what could be making everyone sick, firefighters in hazmat suits swiftly boarded the plane. The hazmat team began scanning equipment and inspecting the aircraft to find any issues.
Despite the myriad of unwell passengers, British Airways told the outlet that this diversion was simply “a precaution” due to a technical issue. After checking the plane from front to back, they cleared it for service the following day. Nobody could find any evidence of toxic fumes that could’ve made people feel sick.
This incident caused an eight-hour delay in Italy. The flight eventually took off but was sent back to Gatwick before passengers could finally reach Egypt the following day.
Melanie recalls how terrifying the ordeal was. “About an hour and a half in the air, crew members suddenly began running down the aisle backwards and forwards,” she recalled. “I didn’t know what was going on.”
Mom And Daughter Left “Utterly Exhausted”
The mother was also upset about British Airways allegedly refusing to refund her £500 for the money she lost on her first night of accommodation in Egypt. They did offer her £2,130 to cover the cancelled flight, as well as meals and expenses. All of this, coupled with not knowing what was happening, made it a difficult situation.
“We were told nothing the whole time,” said Melanie. “We landed and the whole plane was surrounded by police, ambulances, fire services.”
Melanie recalled how men in hazmat suits boarded with full breathing apparatus. The men also wielded what she believed were testing devices. “[They were] running them over the stewards and stewardesses then doing it to the passengers affected.”
“I was absolutely terrified – I was out of my mind with worry, I was really fearful,” Melanie continued. “It was pandemonium. The staff were in pure panic mode. At no point did the captain give us any information.”
The mother described how “utterly exhausted” she and her daughter were after traveling for over 40 hours. “The experience was horrific. It was definitely a flight from hell. BA have performed in the most cavalier manner. The distress and trauma we went through it was utterly traumatic. It ruined the start of our holiday.”
A spokesperson for British Airways told the Daily Mail how safety mattered most to them. “The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our top priority and our aircraft diverted as a precaution because of a technical issue,” they said.
“We’ve apologised to our customers for their experience and have offered compensation accordingly.”