A British Airways crew member was found dead in a hotel room during a stopover in the United States.
Distraught crew members cancelled the flight back to the UK after his body was discovered at the crew’s hotel in San Francisco on Tuesday.
The alarm was raised when the “popular” steward failed to turn up to the return flight to Heathrow 48 hours later.
Pilots left for San Francisco airport without him while cabin crew and in-flight managers waited for him to wake up in reception.
When he failed to arrive, they were escorted to his room, where his body is thought to have lain undiscovered for two days. They are now investigating the cause of the death.
The flight was cancelled, disrupting 850 passengers who were given hotels before being booked onto a replacement flight.
A source told The Sun: “There was no way the flight back from San Francisco could go ahead. Staff were in absolute bits at the sudden loss of their friend.
“The steward was a popular member of the team and this came as a bolt from the blue.”
British Airways confirmed that the man was a member of the crew.
In a statement to The Independent they said: “Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of our colleague at this difficult time.”
