All Three British Airways Pilots Fall Ill Mid-Flight on 11-Hour Journey — Hotel Food Poisoning Suspected
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All three pilots aboard a British Airways Boeing 777-200ER flying from Hyderabad, India, to London fell ill simultaneously during the flight. According to The New Indian Express, the likely cause was food poisoning after the crew shared breakfast at their hotel restaurant before departure.
One of the pilots became so unwell that he was unable to carry out his duties. The other two crew members also experienced health problems, though less severe ones — they managed to keep the aircraft on course and land it safely at London Heathrow Airport.
Upon landing, all three pilots were rushed to hospital for examination. One of them required emergency surgery lasting twelve hours.
The flight lasted ten hours and 35 minutes. According to British Airways' press office, passenger safety was never compromised — the flight proceeded normally in line with all standard procedures, and the aircraft landed without incident.
The airline has launched an investigation at the hotel in Hyderabad where the crew had stayed. Attention is focused on the breakfast the pilots shared in the hotel dining room. It remains unclear exactly which item may have caused the illness, though reports note that the crew drank bottled water supplied by an unnamed third-party vendor.
Aviation industry experts point out that food poisoning among crew members is not unheard of, but it is extremely unusual for an entire cockpit crew to fall ill at the same time. This is precisely why some airlines require captains and first officers to choose different meals or eat at different times — a precaution designed to prevent a situation where all pilots are incapacitated simultaneously.
According to the aviation website Live and Let's Fly, the British Airline Pilots Association said the hotel in Hyderabad in question has previously received numerous complaints about its sanitary conditions. "If true, British Airways has some explaining to do," the outlet notes.
Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz
