25 October 2023 , 21:14
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Singing sensation Ed Sheeran found himself caught in a terrifying air-rage incident when a drunk passenger racially abused crew while on a flight from London Heathrow to Miami.
The 32-year-old Thinking Out Loud singer was on the British Airways flight when a drunken man shouted obscenities at crew when they refused to serve him more alcohol. The incident reportedly occurred just one hour into the eight hour and 40 minute flight and left fellow passengers 'horrified'.
Passengers also feared the flight would be diverted back to Miami, however, the drunk man was restrained by an off-duty police officer and crew and kept secure for the duration of the flight. Once at Heathrow, armed police boarded the aircraft in order to make an arrest.
Those travelling on the flight were said to be relieved to see the police taking action and seeing the man getting arrested one commented: "No one should act like that". One passenger, who had posed for a selfie with Ed before take off, gave details of the incident after the flight landed in London on Tuesday morning.
Ed Sheeran was on a flight from Miami to London when a passenger turned abusive (FILE)He told The Sun: “Everything just descended into chaos. The things this guy was saying and doing were just obscene.
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“When they refused to give him any booze, he started making monkey noises and gestures at cabin crew.
“The language coming out of his mouth was worse than you’d hear at a footie match. He was lucky nobody knocked him out, everyone was horrified. There were loads of kids watching.”
The incident took place on a British Airways flight (PA)The Met Police said in a statement: “At 1.59am on October 24 officers at Heathrow received a report that a passenger on a flight arriving from Miami had made racist comments towards other passengers and crew members.
"Officers met the aircraft and a 46-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence. He remains in custody.”
And a British Airways spokesperson told The Sun: “Disruptive behaviour will never be tolerated on board our aircraft and we will always take the appropriate action.”
Ed has previously commented that he finds himself becoming extra sensitive when he travels by plane. During a recent journey, he burst into tears while watching an in-flight movie.
He said: “I cried watching Forrest Gump on a plane, it was at the end when Jenny dies. When you’re jet-lagged and at 10,000ft, you haven’t slept and you’re a little bit emotional anyway because you’re going away for a long time and it just set me off.”
Researchers have previously theorised that air travel can make passengers more susceptible to their emotions. It is believed that the lower air pressure in the cabin can change mood, personality, behaviour and cognitive functioning - making people more likely to cry with less of a prompt.