Passenger Causes Flight Delay After Mistaking Emergency Exit for Bathroom

Image: PHOTO: Close up on emergency slider of wide body aircraft. (photo via MatusDuda / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Image: PHOTO: Close up on emergency slider of wide body aircraft. (photo via MatusDuda / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Donald Wood
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:20 AM ET, Tue June 11, 2019

Flight delays can be rough on travelers, but the passengers aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were particularly perturbed after someone opened the emergency door thinking it was the bathroom.

According to The Independent, the PIA flight from Manchester, England, to Islamabad, Pakistan, was preparing for takeoff when a passenger mistook the emergency exit for the bathroom and started to open it, causing the emergency slide to deploy automatically.

"We regret the delay of PK771, which is an unfortunate consequence of the delay of PK702, caused due to a passenger opening the emergency door," the airline said in a statement. "We strongly urge passengers to follow security instructions as such mishaps result in inconvenience of hundreds of other passengers."

As a result, the passengers were deplaned and brought back to the terminal, where they waited until boarding the flight once again. In total, the plane took off from England around seven hours after its scheduled departure time.

One traveler who was reportedly on the flight voiced frustrations on social media:


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