Airline Passenger Opens Flight's Emergency Exit Door Mistaking It For Toilet

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight was delayed by seven hours after a passenger opened the emergency exit door of the aircraft after mistaking it for toilet. The incident took place on the runway at England’s Manchester airport on Friday.

Confirming the news, a PIA spokesperson said, “The PIA flight, PK 702, from Manchester to Islamabad was delayed by seven hours. The departure was delayed on Friday night when a passenger erroneously opened the emergency exit causing the emergency chute to activate.”

“The plane was parked on the runway when the airbag chute opened, so there was no threat of any kind,” the spokesperson added.

All the passengers were offloaded from the plane as per standard operating procedure after the incident. They were provided with hotel accommodation and later on adjusted on other flights. Meanwhile, when the unnamed woman passenger was questioned about why she opened the emergency exit door, she said she assumed it was the toilet. PIA chief executive has ordered a probe into the incident.

In a similar incident in September 2018, a passenger aboard a GoAir flight from New Delhi to the Indian city of Patna sparked panic when he tried to open the exit gate mid-air after mistaking it for the washroom door. The cabin crew along with other passengers managed to restrain the unnamed passenger after they saw him attempting to open the exit door. He was arrested after the flight landed at the airport and during interrogation, the man said since he was a first-time flier, he mistook the exit for that of a washroom. After verifying his claims, the man was released on a personal bond.

Confirming the incident Airport Police Station House Officer Mohammad Sanowar Khan had said, “People asked him why he was doing so (trying to open the exit gate). He told them that he needed to use the washroom urgently and kept tugging at the exit door. Pandemonium prevailed amid all this and he was restrained and finally handed over to us. He said that the confusion happened because he had boarded a flight for the first time in his life.”