Benidorm has more than thirty buildings over 100 metres tall, and thousands of flats whose best feature is a balcony. Most balconies are reached through a sliding door of aluminium or uPVC. On some of those doors, the catch can engage if the door is pulled shut firmly from outside. You step out with a coffee, the door slides home behind you, and the flat is on the other side of the glass.
If the door has already closed behind you
Stay calm and stay put. Do not try to climb to a neighbour’s balcony. Nothing inside the flat is worth that, at any height.
If you have your phone:
- Ring whoever has a key: a partner, the host, the owner, reception.
- If nobody does, ring a locksmith and say clearly: you are on the balcony, the flat door is locked or pulled shut, and the balcony door has latched. Give the building, floor and door.
- Somebody will need to get into the building and to your front door. If there is a conserje, they can let the locksmith in.
If you do not have your phone:
- Attract a neighbour’s attention, on the next balcony or below. Ask them to ring for you.
- In heat, with a child inside, or if you feel unwell, ask them to ring 112. The emergency services will deal with the door.
Why it happens
A sliding door locks with a hook or catch that should only engage when the handle is turned. When the mechanism wears, is adjusted too tightly, or has been fitted with a self-latching catch, a firm push can engage it on its own. Once it has happened once, it will happen again.
How to stop it
- Test it. With someone inside, slide the door shut from the balcony side, firmly. If it latches, it needs attention.
- Until it is fixed, prop it. A doorstop or a folded towel in the track stops the door closing fully behind you.
- Get the catch adjusted or changed so it only engages from the handle. It is usually a small repair.
- Take your phone onto the balcony, every time. It is the habit that makes the rest a minor story.
If the flat door behind you was locked with the key, the job becomes a normal lockout from the landing side: the emergency line is the number to ring.