HSE | British Airways has been fined over £3 million after two employees fell from height and sustained serious injuries.
On 25 August 2022 at Heathrow Terminal 5, a 54-year-old employee slipped off a televator and fell 1.5 m due to gaps between guardrails and the aircraft fuselage, suffering back and head injuries including a fractured vertebra.
On 8 March 2023, a 43-year-old employee fell 3 m from an elevator platform, sustaining head injuries including a fractured jaw and brain bleed.
HSE found inadequate guardrails and platform placement in both incidents. British Airways pleaded guilty under Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £1.33 million (2022 incident) and £1.875 million (2023 incident), plus £20,935 costs.
HSE enforcement lawyer Rebecca Schwartz said these foreseeable risks could have been mitigated by adequate guardrails and that British Airways needed to do more to protect its staff. The prosecution was supported by paralegal officer Melissa Wardle.
