Originally Posted by
NHFL9
So was on BA185 over the weekend and almost immediately as we pushed off the gate at Heathrow a passenger and companion come back down the aisle toward the rear galley, something seems clearly wrong. Turns out the one passenger was having a panic attack and was afraid to fly. Crew lets the passengers sit in the last row crew rest seats and starts talking to the passengers. Panic attack passenger seems to start doing better but keeps repeating that she just wants to go home. The FA says "ok that's no problem, I'll just ring the Captain and we'll return to the gate." (It seemed, at least to me, that the crew made no real effort to convince her that it was safe to fly, rather saying "oh yeah the turbulence can be really bad TATL", etc.)
So we're fully pushed off the gate, engines starting up ready to go and the FA calls up front for us to return to stand. Takes 20 minutes to get back on the stand, and another 60 minutes to pull bags, add more fuel, push again, etc. Total 80 minute delay on departure for this. I think the crew just didn't want to be bothered with the prospect of a panicked passenger on an 8 hour flight.
Anyone have anything like this happen before? Reasonable that BA returned to the gate for this inconveniencing 200+ people (many of whom had connections)? Does BA just eat the cost of the delay (additional fuel, etc?) Would be curious to hear thoughts. Never had anything like this happen before and was very surprised how willing the crew was to return to the gate without even trying to calm the passenger down first. Would we have diverted if this happened over Ireland say? Where is the line drawn? Would be curious to hear thoughts on this. Not sure how I felt about it. Part of me felt really badly for the passenger and the other part of me was really annoyed about the delay (especially since I was crammed into the last row of Y for an extra 80 minutes!)
Fortunately, I've never had to deal with such a situation. Worst I've had to deal with were an irate woman who refused to take her seat and argued with the FA and GA for a good ten minutes that her carry-on, which had been gate checked, should be brought back up from the hold before take-off so she could put it in the space she had created in the overhead. And then there was some sort of non-rev passenger situation with a crying girl who had to be escorted off the plane for some reason; never got the details on that one, but the FAs handled Miss Croc Tears like a champ and got her off the plane before she turned nasty. Neither incident caused more than a 10-15 minute delay in pushback.
I'll sat this, though - one of your criticisms is that the flight crew made no attempt to reassure the woman that it was safe to fly. Well, that's okay by me, because no amount of reasoning in the world is going to have any measurable effect on a person who is experiencing a genuine phobia. Phobias are, by definition, unreasonable fears, and cannot be combated by simple reasoning; they require lengthy professional counseling and sometimes medication to overcome.
The delay sucks, and it's reasonable to be annoyed by it, but better to endure an 80 minute delay than a TATL with a screaming, crying, panicking passenger ruining everyone's flight.
Originally Posted by
Proudelitist
It infuriates me that someone's irrational inability to hold themselves together will cause problems for hundreds of strangers...maybe thousands down the line due to cascading delays and rebooks..And I have seen it myself more than once.
However, I understand that it can be a lesser evil than having an person out of control aboard, once airborne. Frightening stories abound regarding people who have tried to open emergency exits in flight, or tried to bust down the cockpit doors.
If you are prone to such attacks, either medicate yourself appropriately, or don't fly. It's not all about you. Aviation is a vastly complex system and your causing a delay can ruin logistics for the airline and cause all manner of problems for other passengers.
Yeah, those stories are frightening to Ma and Pa kettle who never fly and don't understand that cockpit doors are reinforced to prevent nutjobs and terrorists (is that a bit redundant?) from getting in, and it's impossible to open ANY exterior doors while a plane is at altitude because of the pressure differential. Neither of those things are dangerous, not one bit. But they would be unbelievably annoying to everyone aboard.