British Airways Cabin Crew Warned 'Don't Put Dead Bodies In Toilet'

Poor cabin crew staff have enough on their plate when dealing with passengers on board a flight.

Now they are being warned not to hide bodies in the toilet if someone dies mid-flight, as you're never get them out.

"You cannot put a dead passenger in the toilet. It's not respectful and it's not strapped in for landing," a lead trainer advises wannabe crew staff in A Very British Airline, a BBC documentary due to be broadcast next week.

"If they slid off the toilet, they would end up on the floor. You would have to take the aircraft apart to get that person out. Imagine putting someone in the aircraft toilet?"

Instead, the trainer advises dead bodies should be propped up in an empty chair with a blanket "right up to their neck" (hopefully found in First or Business Class) without any other passengers knowing, or brought to a crew rest area to be laid down and covered.

Airlines are advised against putting bodies in the toilet because there have been scenarios where rigor mortis has set in and the body could not be removed from the small space.

In the past, BA used to place dead bodies in seats and pretend that they were asleep by giving them "a vodka and tonic, a Daily Mail and eye-shades".

"They were like, 'they're fine.' We don't do that," the trainer added.

A Very British Airline, which airs on Monday on BBC2, shows how candidates who join BA's cabin crew are "fired" if they fail key tasks during an intensive training programme.

It follows the training of Alice, Patrick and Jodi, selected from thousands of applicants who want to be the face of the airline.

In the past, the airline has been beseiged by strikes over cuts to its cabin crew staff, which cost BA £150m in 2010 alone.

According to the Independent, this new series could spark fresh industrial action over demands to improve the "work/life balance" at the airline.

Cabin crew staff and new entrants working on short and long-haul flights are reportedly paid less than those on budget airlines.

Unite, the union which represents cabin crew, said the programme presents a "one-sided" view of life for staff.

Unite regional officer Matt Smith said: "BA has made considerable savings with mixed fleet cabin crew but about 25% of staff are leaving every year because they are so exhausted."