Swiss businessman Andreas Wuchner was late for his flight after making a Starbucks stop when he ran and slipped in a puddle of spilt Baileys in Heathrow Airport
A business boss who slipped in a Baileys puddle while rushing to catch a flight after insisting on stopping for a last-minute macchiato is now suing the airline for £5million.
Andreas Wuchner was so desperate for his caffeine fix he risked missing his flight. But his Starbucks stop instead landed him in hot water when he dashed to the gate at Heathrow and slipped in the puddle of liqueur dropped by a fellow passenger.
Office supplies firm boss Mr Wuchner is now suing British Airways for head injuries, telling a judge he needed to stop for a “proper coffee”. The Swiss national was laden down with four espressos and latte macchiatos from Starbucks when he slipped in November 2017, but claims he was not at fault.
His injuries, he claims, caused his business to fold, but lawyers for BA blame him for the fiasco. Central London’s County Court heard had already missed a flight and was told he was the last passenger to board when he started “running with two bags, a tray of coffee and a mobile phone” before slipping in the Baileys.
Mr Wuchner, then 35, had been in London on a business trip and was catching a flight home to Zurich at the time. He had already missed one flight due to traffic and rebooked, but told the judge that, due to long security queues, he and his business partner were the last to the boarding gate.
Barrister Tom Bird, for the airline, said Mr Wuchner had just 15 minutes before take off when he went to Starbucks. When asked why he decided to get coffee so close to departure, he told judge David Saunders: “I really enjoy a proper coffee out of a coffee machine, rather than the normal airport coffee, which is why I went to Starbucks.
“As soon as I ordered the coffee, the BA employee started to shout loudly that I was the last passenger so I should hurry up. I went as quickly as possible to the boarding gate, bearing in mind I had four coffees in my hand.
“I wasn’t running, but I went as quickly as I could. I was walking swiftly, bearing in mind the safety of my coffee cups.” He said that, having been “put under pressure” to hurry, he headed towards the BA desk and slipped in the Baileys, flipping two metres in the air, sending the coffee cups flying and hitting his head on the floor.
“I was told I went two metres in the air, that’s what was said to me. I was told that I did a backwards jump and did two metres in the air.” Mr Bird put to him that he had caused a potentially dangerous situation for himself by choosing caffeine over punctuality.
“You put yourself under pressure by turning up late for the flight and, instead of turning up to the gate, going to get more coffee,” he said. Mr Wuchner insisted: “I walked normally to the gate.”
The barrister asked: “Why four coffees? Were you tired from the night before?” Mr Wuchner told him: “No. Just for the flight, one latte macchiato and one espresso for both of us.”
When asked why he missed the puddle of cream liqueur, he explained he didn’t see it as a staff member “continued to shout at me and distract me”. “I was put under pressure from the coffee counter to hurry up or I would miss the flight,” he said, claims which Mr Bird rejected.
Although BA is automatically liable up to £120,000 to Mr Wuchner under the Montreal Convention, which governs accidents in international airports, it claims it can exonerate itself from liability by blaming Mr Wuchner. Mr Wuchner’s lawyer Sarah Prager KC said the spill had been there for 15 minutes when her client slipped.
The court heard his company was “liquidated” in September 2018, ten months after the accident, with Ms Prager saying his “traumatic brain injury” led to headaches and focus issues which led to the firm’s collapse.
