A Swiss businessman has sued British Airways for 5 million pounds (Rs 52,88,30,180) after suffering a brain injury at Heathrow Airport when he slipped on a puddle of Baileys liqueur. As per a Metro report, the incident happened in 2017 when he was travelling from London to Zurich. Andreas Wuchner, who ran an office supplies company, is now taking legal action against the airline, claiming his head injuries incurred due to the fall, caused his business to fail.

According to the complaint, the fall resulted in headaches, forgetfulness, and concentration issues that impacted his ability to work, ultimately causing his office supplies company to shut down. 

He said he struggles to concentrate because of the ”traumatic brain injury.”

A London court already awarded Mr. Wuchner 130,000 pounds in February 2021, but the case is now returning to court for a pre-trial hearing, where the focus will be on whether British Airways was negligent.

Narratig the events, Mr Wuchner told judge David Saunders: “I really enjoy a proper coffee out of a coffee machine, rather than the normal airport coffee, which is why I went to Starbucks. As soon as I ordered the coffee, the BA employee started to shout loudly that I was the last passenger so I should hurry up. I went as quickly as possible to the boarding gate, bearing in mind I had four coffees in my hand. I wasn’t running, but I went as quickly as I could. I was walking swiftly, bearing in mind the safety of my coffee cups.”

He further said that as he headed towards the BA desk, he slipped in the Baileys, flipping two metres in the air, sending the coffee cups flying and hitting his head on the floor.

Meanwhile, the Airways has rejected that amount, arguing the Montreal Convention limits its maximum liability.

Tom Bird, the barrister for British Airways, said: ”There are significant factual disputes between the parties, going not only to the circumstances of the accident but also to the nature and extent of the claimant’s injuries on his employment prospects and the reasons for the insolvency of his company, as well as the company’s past and future performance.”

During the trial, due to take place over four days in Central London County Court, medical professionals, including neurologists and orthopaedic surgeons, will testify.

London:

The wingtip of an empty Virgin Atlantic jet collided with a stationary British Airways airliner while being towed from a stand at London’s Heathrow Airport on Saturday, the airlines said.

Heathrow, Britain’s busiest airport, said no passenger injuries had been reported and it did not anticipate any ongoing impact to the airport’s operations.

Accident at #heathrow involving a #virginatlantic#boeing787 and a #britishairways#A350#bigjettv@BigJetTVLIVEpic.twitter.com/Hm5Vh6ehrc

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“Our aircraft is being assessed by our engineering teams and we have provided an alternative aircraft to limit the impact on our customers,” British Airways said in a statement.

Virgin Atlantic said its empty Boeing 787-9 had just completed a flight and was being towed to another part of the airfield when the incident happened at Terminal 3.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “We’ve commenced a full and thorough investigation and our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the aircraft, which for now has been taken out of service.”

The airline said there would be no disruption to its flying programme on Saturday.

Heathrow said it was working with emergency services and the two airlines in response to the incident.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

An EVA Air flight (BR67) from Bangkok to London was forced to make an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport on Friday after a passenger attempted suicide inside the airplane bathroom, according to The Metro.

Cabin crew discovered the passenger during the plane’s descent when they noticed someone was still in the restroom. Upon checking on the passenger, they found them in a condition that suggested a possible suicide attempt, as per news report.

The identity of the passenger and the reason behind the attempt remain unknown. Crew members and a doctor onboard provided first aid to the passenger.

The plane landed at around 7:30 pm local time, where medical personnel awaited to transport the passenger to a hospital. There are currently no updates on the passenger’s condition.

EVA Air confirmed the incident but has not provided any further details or responded to requests for comment.

Earlier this year, another incident caused a flight to divert. In January, a Ryanair flight from the UK to Spain was forced to land unexpectedly in Portugal due to a fight among passengers.

According to news report, a group of possibly intoxicated men were harassing female passengers on the flight. The situation escalated when a flight attendant tried to intervene, but was allegedly knocked unconscious by the unruly passengers. This prompted the captain to issue a warning and ultimately divert the plane.

The passenger added that the group didn’t pay any heed to the captain’s warning, and the brawl continued for 20 minutes. Just after it all, in the next 20 minutes, the flight landed in Portugal.