British Airways flight from Barcelona met by Fire Crew in London

Passengers were rushed off a British Airways flight that had flown into London from Barcelona after many began to fall ill.

As panic set in onboard a British Airways flight at London Heathrow, passengers were forced to wait for the fire brigade and help them evacuate a plane which had seen suspicious fumes enter the aircraft.

The flight arrived safely and touched down as normal in Heathrow having taken off from Barcelona, but things quickly turned around with four passengers reportedly falling ill before disembarking the aircraft after seemingly inhaling unexpected fumes.

At around 4:15 pm on Sunday 8 October, there were reports of emergency services rushing on the tarmac towards terminal 5 after the plane landed and they were immediately tasked with helping make sure all passengers were safe.

British Airways flight evacuated at London Heathrow

Once they boarded the aircraft, however, they were met with a rather unusual plane that had been overcome with fumes and made at least four passengers become unwell and require medical attention.

Images and videos have emerged on social media which show police cars and fire engines on the tarmac and surrounding the plane at terminal 5, while passengers on board the aircraft have shared media content with firemen on the aircraft.

According to one social media user who was seemingly on the flight has claimed they were locked on a plane for 90 minutes with the fumes, which would have been certainly unpleasant and potentially scary for many on board.

Nothing like being locked on a plane with a ‘potential contagion’ for an hour and half with no explanation or information. @britishairways @HeathrowAirport pic.twitter.com/xw8YzfEOUF

— Martin Hill (@MartinHill25) October 8, 2023

Despite early scares about what the smoke and fumes could have been which were detected in the cockpit, the London fire brigade have since confirmed that there were no abnormal chemical readings in the aircraft.

Four passengers fell ill on Barcelona-London flight

The Metropolitan police were quickly in attendance to help out and reassure anyone who was worried about the situation and they’ve since released a statement which read: “Police were called at 16:15hrs on Sunday, 8 October to reports of passengers taken unwell on a flight into Heathrow Airport.

“Emergency services attended. Four people were treated at the scene.”

While this was only a precaution as nothing serious was found, it was still worrying times for all passengers and members of the crew having to watch people fall unwell all around them, but British Airways insisted everyone was able to exit the aircraft safely.

They said: “Customers disembarked the aircraft safely via steps, and we’ve apologised to them for the delay and inconvenience caused to their journey.”

It remains to be seen what caused these fumes, and British Airways will be fighting very hard to get to the bottom of this because it will only worry potential customers who are set to fly with the world-famous company in the near future.