‘Flight from hell’: Six fall ill on British Airways flight from London to Egypt; forces emergency landing in Italy

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A British Airways flight from London to Egypt was forced to make an emergency landing in Venice, Italy, after passengers and crew members suddenly fell ill.According to passenger Melanie Wells, 61, from East Sussex, six people were affected in total. “Crew members suddenly began running down the aisle backwards and forwards. I didn’t know what was going on,” she said. “There was one mom whose eyes rolled into the back of her head. The crew looking after them had actually collapsed,” added Wells, as quoted by The New York Post.Wells, who was traveling with her 19-year-old daughter on a $10,000 all-inclusive trip to Sharm El Sheikh, said the ordeal began even before takeoff. “When we boarded, the temperature was so extreme that I started to feel unwell. It was supersonically hot. I ended up getting a really bad headache.” Reflecting on the ordeal, Wells said: “It was definitely a flight from hell.”She later described feeling “nauseous” and believed “noxious fumes” were to blame.When the plane landed in Venice, it was met by ambulances and fire engines. Hazmat-suited crews with breathing equipment boarded to check passengers and staff. She later described feeling “nauseous” and believed “noxious fumes” were to blame.She added that the cabin crew were also visibly shaken, criticising the lack of information from the cockpit. “At no point did the captain give us any information.”After an eight-hour delay in Italy, the plane was flown back to London before finally reaching Egypt the following morning. “We were traveling for 40 hours. We were utterly exhausted,” Wells said, as quoted by The New York Post, calling the experience “horrific.”Wells later filed a complaint with British Airways. The airline offered nearly $3,000 in compensation for the canceled flight, meals, and other expenses, but she said it refused to refund $667 for the first missed night of her holiday. British Airways has not confirmed the cause of the illnesses. A spokesperson said the aircraft was diverted “as a precaution because of a technical issue,” adding, “We’ve apologised to our customers for their experience and have offered compensation accordingly.”