How a Delta flight attendant's deployment of an emergency evacuation slide cost the airlines $70K and caused nearly a 4-hour delay

A Delta Air Lines flight attendant caused a four-hour delay and approximately $70,000 in costs after inadvertently deploying an emergency evacuation slide just before departure. According to the International Business Times, the incident occurred on an Airbus A220 aircraft from Pittsburgh International Airport to Salt Lake City on October 25, 2025.

The flight attendant, who has over 26 years of experience, triggered the emergency evacuation slide at the forward left-hand (1L) door during the routine take-off preparations. He accidentally lifted the handle while the door was armed, which triggered the power-assist mechanism. This caused the door to immediately open, deploying the slide into the jetbridge within seconds.

The slide's position in the jetbridge prevented the aircraft from being reconnected to the terminal. Passengers were stranded on the aircraft for hours as engineers were called to deflate the emergency evacuation slide. The flight, which was supposed to depart at 5:30 pm, finally left Pittsburgh International Airport at 9:11 pm.

A Delta flight bound for Salt Lake City was delayed by four hours (Image via Getty)

Replacing or repacking the slide might cost the company between $50,000 and $70,000. Additionally, Delta rebooked tickets and provided accommodations for passengers who missed their connecting flights from Salt Lake City. The company also conducted maintenance inspections on the flight before takeoff, and paid for repositioning crew members. The entire ordeal is speculated to have cost the airlines over six figures in damages.

According to a Reddit post, the flight attendant apologized for the mishap. He further claimed this was the first time an incident like this had happened in his career.

"The flight attendant accidentally triggered the emergency slide. Everyone’s entire night just became a cluster f**k. He did apologize and was quite flustered, cited over the 26 years of career, it never happened. Can someone explain how though? Shouldn’t it be something with quite a safety check for making this kind of mistake?" the post read.

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Delta canceled a flight for a similar reason in January

This is not the first time Delta Air Lines has faced an incident like this. In January 2025, the airlines canceled a Boeing 767 flight from Seattle to Honolulu after a flight attendant accidentally released an emergency slide before boarding.

According to CNN, the flight was canceled as the crew's allowable duty time ended before the aircraft could be fixed. A spokesperson for Delta apologized to customers for the incident and stated that it "reaccommodated customers," saying:

“Flight 419 from Seattle to Honolulu was canceled due to damage to the aircraft before boarding. We apologize to our customers for their experience, and we have reaccommodated customers on flights to their final destinations today.”

Speaking to CNN, a passenger described the ordeal, saying a delay led to them switching aircraft from a Boeing 757 to a 767. The passenger added that "they accidentally deployed the slide" before boarding began, saying:

“At that point they said they were going to see if they had a replacement slide and … after waiting another hour and a half they told us they didn’t and the flight was cancelled... I will say that while this was extremely frustrating the gate agents were wonderful handing a really crappy situation."

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In other news, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian revealed that the ongoing US government shutdown has a "small" impact on the company's operations, including a loss of less than $1 million a day, in a statement to Reuters dated October 27.

Edited by Juhi Marzia