Flight attendant assaulted by homeless man with clothes hanger in room of popular London airport hotel

If you subscribe to my daily travel tip newsletter, then you know that I frequently write travel tips on the topic of safety, especially when it comes to hotel rooms. It wasn’t until relatively recently that I learned just how unsafe some hotel rooms can be and how the safety locks often give a false sense of security. Here’s how thieves can quickly and easily break into a hotel room and how you can prevent it from happening.

The Economic Times is reporting that “a flight attendant from Air India was attacked by an intruder in her London hotel room post-midnight. Her colleagues intervened, causing the attacker to flee, and he was eventually caught. The victim sustained bruises and received medical treatment.”

The incident occurred at the popular Radisson Hotel London Heathrow around 1:30am. Fortunately, for the flight attendant, her colleagues were in nearby rooms and the walls must be thin because she screamed loudly when the intruder entered her room and they rushed to her aid.

A spokesperson for Air India confirmed the incident, saying, “We are deeply anguished by an unlawful incident of intrusion at a hotel, operated by a major international chain, that affected one of our crew members. We are providing all possible support to our colleague and their broader team, including professional counselling. Air India is also working with the local police to pursue the matter to the fullest extent of the law, and with the hotel management to ensure such incidents are not repeated.”

The Economic Times reports the intruder is believed to “be a homeless person who managed to enter the hotel unnoticed, attacked the flight attendant with a clothes hanger and dragged her on the floor as she tried to escape.”

I stayed at the Radisson Hotel London Heathrow in 2011 and I wrote a little bit about it, saying: “I love plane spotting, and this hotel has to be one of the best in the world for doing just that because it’s right near the runway (be sure to ask for a room overlooking it if you are an aviation geek like me). Don’t worry, the windows are fairly soundproof, so you will get sleep.” I also wrote “Lots of flight crew and passengers from cancelled flights stay here. Like all airport hotels, it’s for transients.”

All hotels, airport hotel or otherwise, should have good enough security to spot a homeless person walking in. I don’t remember the elevators at this particular hotel but all hotel elevators should require room keycards to actiavate them and only take guests to designated floors.

A few months ago, I wrote this tip: A former CIA officer and FBI agent’s travel safety tips and the item she says can provide an added sense of security when you’re sleeping. The tips are from Tracy Schandler Walder and two are particularly helpful in this case:

Lock the security lock
“Lock the security lock,” says Tracy. “It’s the first thing I do behind myself when I enter the room. Lock the security lock right away. And whenever you’re in the room, keep that lock locked. There’s really no reason to have it unlocked if you’re inside your room.”

Use a door stopper
Tracy says that once she’s in the room for the evening, she uses a door stopper. “I actually travel with a doorstop. It’s just one of those rubber doorstops that’s cheap, light and easy, it’s not going to weigh down your luggage. You can jam that into the door as well while you’re sleeping to give you sort of an added sense of security.”

After writing this post, I started traveling with a doorstopper too but I haven’t used it yet. If you’re really worried about someone entering your room, security gadgets like the door handle alarm and portable door lock, a travel-friendly door lock for hinged doors, are other options to consider.

Here’s a video that shows how the door lock works:

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