A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Manchester to Islamabad, Pakistan, was delayed for nearly eight hours when a passenger opened an emergency exit after mistaking it for a restroom. The flight, PK702, was originally scheduled for Friday evening but departed from the UK city at 5:00 AM on Saturday and arrived at its destination seven hours late, also delaying the departure of additional flights from Manchester Airport.
Photo: jremes84/Shutterstock
Flight Delayed 7 Hours After Passenger Mistakes Emergency Exit for Bathroom
The delayed arrival was only the beginning of woes for the plane’s passengers, however. The confused passenger’s actions sparked a series of chaos. Because of the disarmed emergency exit, 38 of the almost 400 passengers on board were asked to disembark. Many reported that their baggage was left behind in Manchester. One of the passengers who deplaned tweeted to the airline after finally arriving in Islamabad on a different flight: “Pathetic service from pia. I am one of the 38 passengers who voluntarily offloaded from PK702 so it can fly to Islamabad only on the condition that all 38 of us will get our luggage…Then when we reached here today we were told half of our luggage is still at Manchester airport. We have suffered a lot.”
The airline apologized for the inconvenience. “All passengers were provided dinner. The offloaded passengers were provided with transportation and hotel accommodation and will be adjusted on the next available flight. PIA regrets the inconvenience caused to its passengers due to this incident,” according to a report by The Guardian. 
H/T: The Guardian