A British Airways flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) was cancelled earlier this week after a crewmember died during the layover.
British Airways Crewmember Dies During Layover in San Francisco
The incident was discovered on Thursday April 17, 2025 when the crew scheduled to operate British Airways Flight 284 met in the lobby of the crew hotel and noticed one of their colleagues were missing. The pilots for the flight, which was to be operated by an Airbus A380, headed to the airport while the cabin crew remained in the lobby to wait on their colleague.
After the crewmember didn’t answer the in-room phone or his cell phone, hotel staff opened the door to find the deceased crewmember in his bed. The crew was understandably distraught, especially considering the flight attendant was reportedly young. The flight that the crew was scheduled to operate to London was cancelled and the pilots returned to the airport to support their fellow crewmembers.
The crew scheduled to work the flight arrived in San Francisco from London on Tuesday April 15, 2025. They had a two night layover in the city and while there are no reports of any issues prior to the discovery on Thursday, it appears that the crewmember may have been deceased for quite a while.
In order to return the plane and the deceased crewmember’s colleagues back to London, British Airways cancelled one of its two daily A380 frequencies on Friday April 18, allowing a different crew to return the aircraft. The crewmembers presumably deadheaded back to London.
A cause of death for the crewmember has not been released but by all accounts this was unexpected. It does not appear that any foul play is expected in this case but police are investigating the incident.
Summary
A British Airways crewmember was found died during a two night layover in San Francisco earlier this week. This caused a flight between San Francisco and London to be cancelled due to the circumstances. By all accounts, the crewmember was young and this was a very unexpected event. No foul play is expected but local police are investigating the incident.