The pilot and Crew of a UK flight that was scheduled to depart Birmingham Airport became stuck in a lift, causing a delay of more than three hours.

Until firefighters were able to release the team, the 7.45 am Qatar Airways flight to Doha was unable to depart. While they awaited the resolution of the issue, passengers had to wait in long lines for meal tickets. In the end, the airport issued an apology for the delay and acknowledged that the crew was trapped in a temporary lift.

The crew had to be freed by the local fire department after several hours of trying to resolve the problem; they were released at approximately 9:30 am. The flight didn’t take off until 11:40 am and arrived in Doha nearly three hours behind schedule when the crew finally collected themselves, prepared the aircraft, and boarded all of the passengers.

Just before 9.30 am, West Midlands Fire Service removed a panel to allow the crew to leave because our lift contractor was unable to reactivate the lift system. We sincerely apologize to the affected passengers and airline employees. Within the next hour, the 7.45 am Doha service is scheduled to depart.”

Source