Flight passenger mistakingly opens emergency exit instead of bathroom door

Jun 11 2019, 1:46 am

There are many faux pas one can make while on an airplane.

Crying babies, snoozing on your neighbour’s shoulder, or putting your stinky feet on the armrest, for example, are highly frowned upon.

But opening the emergency door in a non-emergency can be a fatal move under certain circumstances.

A woman on a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft was looking for the door to the toilets, when she mistakenly opened the emergency exit door instead.

ā€œThe PIA flight, PK 702, from Manchester to Islamabad was delayed by seven hours. The departure was delayed on Friday night when a passenger erroneously opened the emergency exit causing the emergency chute to activate,ā€ said a PIA spokesperson to Gulf News.

Opening the emergency exit door caused the emergency chute to deploy, which costs an airline between $6,000 and $30,000 (Dh22,038 and Dh110,160).

Fortunately, the aircraft had not yet left the runway, and no one was harmed. The flight containing nearly 40 passengers was required to disembark from the plane as per standard operating procedure.

Aircraft passengers are reminded to always follow security instructions on flights. Here are our top airline safety tips to calm your flight anxiety and stay safe when flying!

Kellie PaxianKellie Paxian

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