British Airways plane evacuated after passengers fall ill from ‘fumes’ on flight

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A large emergency services operation took place at Heathrow Airport yesterday in response to reports of passengers feeling unwell due to “fumes” detected on a British Airways plane. A London Ambulance Service spokesperson told The Independent that it sent “a number of resources to the scene”, including three medics in fast-response cars, two advanced paramedics, two ambulance crews, two incident response officers and members of the hazardous area response team “After assessing multiple people at the scene, we treated three patients and discharged them,” they said. The “safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority”, said a spokesperson for British Airways, adding that “this aircraft landed normally at Heathrow following reports of a technical issue”. No elevated readings were found.” Martin Hill, one of the passengers caught up in the incident, wrote on X/Twitter: “Nothing like being locked on a plane with a ‘potential contagion’ for an hour and half with no explanation or information.” Almost two hours later Mr Hill shared that authorities “finally let us go” and that there “was no contagion in the end.” Another traveller, James Cheadle, also posted, writing: “No information other than smoke/fumes were detected in the cockpit and some cabin crew have been told to strip after falling ill.” He added that passengers were “herded into some departure gates.” In July, a British Airways flight was forced to make a U-turn after only 35 minutes in the air after a “burning smell” reportedly filled the cabin.