A British Airways crew member mistakenly triggered the emergency evacuation slide on a flight bound for Washington DC from Heathrow on Saturday.
The incident left around 336 passengers stranded on the tarmac for three hours.
The costly error, estimated at approximately £100,000, occurred mere moments before the aircraft was due to take off.
Emergency services were called to attend the grounded plane as travellers remained confined to their seats during the lengthy delay.
The incident marks the third time in recent years that BA staff have accidentally deployed an emergency slide, raising questions about the flag carrier's procedures.
Passengers were ultimately required to disembark from the aircraft following the mistake.
A source described the incident to The Sun as "a brainless act". explaining the slide was deployed when a crew member accidentally opened the door just seconds before the scheduled departure.
The source said: "Just seconds from take-off, a BA crew member accidentally popped the door and deployed the emergency slide.
A British Airways crew member mistakenly triggered the emergency evacuation slide on a flight
|GETTY
They added: "It was a brainless act, which delayed the flight for three hours and cost around £100,000."
The source confirmed that passengers were eventually forced to leave the aircraft entirely.
Emergency crews attended the scene as a precautionary measure while the situation was resolved.
The blunder represents a significant operational failure for the airline, as the accidental slide deployment rendered the aircraft unable to continue its transatlantic journey as originally scheduled.
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The incident left around 336 passengers stranded on the tarmac for three hours
|GETTY
This latest incident follows a similar mishap last year when a BA employee accidentally activated the emergency slide on an Airbus A321 service from Heathrow to Brussels, resulting in the flight being cancelled altogether.
Passengers on that occasion also faced a three-hour wait as the airline arranged an alternative aircraft for the relatively short journey to Belgium, which typically takes just one hour and 15 minutes.
Emergency services were similarly dispatched to that scene as a precaution.
The costly error, estimated at approximately £100,000, occurred mere moments before the aircraft was due to take off
|GETTY
In February 2024, a BA captain triggered an emergency slide on flight BA886 to Romania shortly before departure after reportedly failing to disarm the aircraft door before opening it to hand paperwork to fellow crew members.
That error caused substantial delays for those on board and cost the airline an estimated £50,000.
A spokesman for British Airways said: "We have apologised to customers for the delay to their journey. Our teams worked hard to get them on their way as quickly as possible."
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