A passenger on a British Airways flight to St Lucia has been taken into custody after he allegedly injured two passengers, including a good samaritan who attempted to intervene in a dispute during the flight from London Gatwick.
The horrifying incident took place around six hours into the eight-hour flight to the Caribbean island, according to witnesses onboard the Boeing 777 who have since spoken to local media.
In a video clip of the incident, the assailant appears to argue with a passenger before swinging at the victim with what looks like a broken wine bottle top. Cabin crew looked on and attempted to diffuse the situation before calling for help. (We have decided not to share footage of the attack).
Witnesses claim the suspect was a St Lucian who got into a dispute with a man and his family. The suspect allegedly smashed the wine bottle in the galley of the aircraft and used the bottle top to threaten the man and hit him over the head.
He then allegedly attacked the second victim, who had intervened.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the victim is seen pulling up his top to see if he has been stabbed. The victim reportedly suffered a ‘deep cut’ and received emergency medical care from a nurse who was a passenger onboard the flight.
A spokesperson for British Airways told us that the incident was now being dealt with by police but that the safety and security of the airline’s passengers was always its top priority.
“We’re shocked that anyone would act in this way and are grateful to our highly trained cabin crew and the customers who supported them in handling this difficult incident,” the airline told us in a statement.
“We want to assure customers that this behaviour will never be tolerated, and we will always take the appropriate action.”
British Airways flight BA2159 continued onto St Lucia, where the victims were transported to St Jude Hospital. The suspect was taken into custody at the scene.
The Royal St Lucia Police Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Let’s hope this one doesn’t get too much coverage – would not want to see bans on glass bottles of wine, champagne, etc