BA crew member found dead in hotel during stopover in US

A crew member was tragically found dead in his hotel bed in San Francisco on a stopover between . The alarm was raised by his colleagues after he failed to report for duty for the return flight to the UK.

Upon the discovery of his body in his room at the hotel, the crew was said to be too upset to continue with the flight to . The 850-passenger flight was cancelled at the last minute, causing major disruption to travel plans. Airline bosses are now trying to figure out the cause of the young man's death.

The young crew member checked in to the crew's hotel in San Francisco on Tuesday after flying in from Heathrow. However, he failed to report for Thursday's return flight, meaning he may have been lying dead for two days.

His colleagues at BA raised the alarm and were taken by hotel managers to his room where they made the discovery.

A source told : "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 return flight, BA284, aboard a A380-800 which was due to take off at 4:20pm was cancelled, but the passengers were not told why. They were given hotel rooms while BA tried to organise alternative arrangements.

A decision was also taken to cancel the return journey, BA 285, from London to San Francisco the next day, which had been due to leave London at 10.45am, findings from aviation analytics firm Cirium revealed.

"The steward was a popular member of the team and this came as a bolt from the blue," the source continued.

"The grim reality is that he may have been dead in his bed for some time."

BA said: "Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of our colleague at this difficult time."