Austrian Airlines 767 slide deploys at Montreal gate, 68 passengers offloaded

An Austrian Airlines Boeing 767 accidentally deployed its forward emergency slide at the gate in Montreal, delaying its return service to Vienna and forcing the airline to leave passengers behind.

According to the carrier, the slide inflated and struck the apron at Montréal–Trudeau airport. No one was injured, an Austrian Airlines spokesperson said.

The aircraft, registered OE-LAE, flew from Vienna to Montreal on Sunday 13 September and was due to head back to Austria after a four-and-a-half-hour turnaround. The return flight, OS556, left later than planned.

Specialists removed the slide. After an inspection and release, the affected door was blocked for the flight back to Vienna, the spokesperson said.

The number of usable exits must match the number of passengers on board so an evacuation can be carried out within the required time. Austrian Airlines therefore had to offload travellers: 141 passengers flew back to Vienna instead of the 209 planned, leaving 68 people behind.

Austrian Airlines plans to retire its three remaining Boeing 767s at the start of December. The twinjets are still flying North American routes until then.