A British Airways crew member has been stripped down by management and law enforcement after being found dancing in the nude on a transatlantic flight. According to reports in British tabloid The Sun, the air steward went awol midway between San Francisco and London, abandoning passengers and apparently all decorum while allegedly under the influence of drugs.
The crew member’s absence was noticed during meal service on board the double-decker Airbus A380-800. A crew manager then discovered the colleague in a business class toilet conducting his own private party, completely starkers.
The in-flight team was forced to cover their colleague’s modesty by clothing him with a pair of pyjamas going spare among the first-class passengers’ comfort packs. He was escorted from the Cabin World loo and strapped into a first-class seat where he was restrained for the remaining hours of the flight. The crew reportedly expressed anger at being left shorthanded to cope with serving the plane’s passengers and having to work the rest of the shift with no breaks.
It is believed the BA employee had taken illicit substances before the flight. The Sun reports one coworker as saying: “We think the guy popped pills when he was meant to be working. It is an extraordinary thing to do. The plane was cruising at 37,000ft over the Atlantic, but this bloke seemed to be higher than anyone else. Rather than asking passengers ‘chicken or beef’, he was stripping off and dancing in the toilet. It was a long time before he was located and he was completely out of it.”
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that British Airways contacted authorities just after 9:30 am, reporting concerns for the welfare of someone on board the long-haul flight. A 41-year-old male was arrested on suspicion of being unfit for duty after the plane landed at London Heathrow, and removed from the aircraft in a wheelchair, the force said.
The man in question was then taken to hospital on arrival in London, before being released while an investigation into the incident takes place. In the meantime, he has been suspended from duty.
The BA colleague who is said to have spoken to press pointed out: “Not only is it really dangerous, it is a crazy way to end your BA career. This job can do ridiculous things to people, but staging a one-man disco in a Club World toilet is a new one on me.”
