Flight delayed with hundreds of passengers stranded as pilot gets stuck in lift

02 January 2024 , 13:55

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A flight was delayed for several hours when a pilot became stuck in a lift (Image: BPM Media)

A UK flight bound to leave Birmingham Airport was delayed after the pilot and crew got stuck in a lift - for over three hours.

The 7.45am Qatar Airways service to Doha was unable to take off until firefighters were able to free the team. Passengers faced long queues for meal tickets while they waited for the issue to be resolved. Eventually, the airport confirmed the crew were stuck in a temporary lift and apologised for the delay.

One passenger said: "The flight was due out at 7.45am to Doha, what they've told us is the pilot has been stuck in an airport lift since 6am. Half the staff and the pilot and the staff are stuck in the lift. It's shambolic, so basically you've got people going all over the world, Australia, New Zealand."

Another passenger described a "massive queue" of passengers waiting for meal tickets, reports BirminghamLive. They added: "Everybody has connecting flights in Doha, no-one knows when the next flight is. It's the ground staff telling us the pilot is stuck.

"I'm off to Malaysia, there's people here going to Australia, Bali, we're just waiting now for a meal ticket which will be about £8 but it costs about £4.50 for a Costa coffee. If the pilot has been stuck in there for so long, he may not even be in a fit state to fly, apparently he's still in there. It's some story isn't it, you couldn't make it up."

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A spokesman for Birmingham Airport confirmed fire crews rescued the pilot. They eventually freed the team, who were stranded from 6am until just before 9:30am today. They said: "At 6am today, airline crew members reported becoming stuck in one of our temporary lifts.

"With our lift contractor unable to reactivate the lift system, West Midlands fire service removed a panel to allow the crew out just before 9.30am. We are very sorry to airline crew members and customers affected by this. The 7.45am Doha service is set to depart in the next hour."

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Antony Thrower