Ten Passengers Tackle Intoxicated Traveler on LHR-Bangkok Flight
Jackie Reddy January 30, 2017
The man had been drinking heavily throughout the duration of the 11-hour journey and was violent and aggressive.
It took ten passengers to restrain and subdue a heavily intoxicated and violent traveler on a recent Bangkok-bound British Airways flight from London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR). The incident occurred on January 21st after the man, reportedly a Russian national, consumed one liter of whiskey in addition to multiple in-flight drinks during the course of the 11-hour flight.
Mobile phone stills of the incident, as published in The Sun, show up to ten passengers struggling to restrain the man. One man, Simon Johnson, told the paper that the drunken traveler was “out of control” and said that he had been attacked while waiting to use the lavatory.
He recounted the incident, saying, “I was standing near his seat waiting for the lavatory when he came behind me and he hit me in the back and started pushing me. He was a big lad, very drunk, and very aggressive…I got him down into his seat but he was still causing a problem.”
“There were eight men and two women helping to control him at one point. The cabin crew couldn’t cope. One of them went to get handcuffs and we had to restrain him,” Johnson added.
The man was eventually subdued and was taken away by local police upon landing. Johnson, who suffered back pain and spasms as a result of the incident, was offered 2,000 Thai Baht ($56.8) as compensation plus a business class upgrade on his return flight back to London.
He also contacted British Airways’ customer service department to raise his concerns that cabin crew hadn’t done enough to restrain the drunken man.
A spokesperson for the carrier told the paper, “Our customers and crew deserve to enjoy their flights, without any form of disruption. This sort of behavior will not be tolerated, and the appropriate action will always be taken.”
[Photo: Shutterstock]
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Why was he continuing to be served so much alcohol by the cabin crew? Sounds like he should have been cut off much earlier, or even denied boarding if he was already visibly intoxicated.
One of the unfortunate downsides of what happens too often on BA long haul flights - cabin crew prefer to shut the blinds and put you to sleep (even on 100% day time flights to destinations such as Toronto), and go hide in the galley. Therefore, no supervision of a passenger ploughing through his litre of duty free until it's too late.
Another incident on BA. What's wit dat?