A pilot died at a hotel in Egypt after collapsing shortly before he was due to fly a British Airways plane back to the UK.
Fellow BA flight crew gave first aid to the man in the foyer of their hotel in Cairo after he had a heart attack in his room. They performed CPR but could not save his life.
Their plane, which was due to take off for Heathrow Airport, was delayed by the tragedy but passengers on board were not aware of what was happening.
A source told The Sun: “It has rocked BA. It doesn’t bear imagining if he had suffered a heart attack at 30,000ft.”
BA said: “Our thoughts are with our colleague's friends and family at this very sad time."
Airline bosses had the task of informing the veteran pilot's family of his sudden death. He is believed to have suffered ill health in recent months.
A wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane was reportedly flown to Egypt to transport the pilot back to the UK because the Airbus A321 jet used for the flight did not have room in the hold for a coffin.
