Airline Faces Big Bill After Crew's Drunken Night

A British Airways crew's alleged night of heavy drinking in Barbados didn't just end with a hangover—it grounded an entire flight. The Sun reports that Sunday's BA254 from Bridgetown to London was scrapped after multiple cabin crew members were allegedly so intoxicated they were unfit to work, leaving as many as 336 passengers stuck in the island capital. One flight attendant allegedly vomited at the bar of a high-end resort the previous night; another reportedly collapsed and had to be helped to his room. Eurocontrol data suggest the cancellation may have cost BA more than $133,000 in hotels and transport for affected travelers, per the Telegraph.

The airline's rules bar staff from drinking in public while identifiable as crew, but witnesses at the resort said the group was loud enough that guests began filming them—prompting one staffer to allegedly say, "We're British Airways crew, what of it?" British Airways said it is "urgently investigating," adding that it expects the "highest standards" from its employees. The incident follows several recent substance-related scandals involving airline staff, including a BA flight attendant found naked and high on a flight last year, and a pilot confessing to snorting cocaine during a 2023 stopover in South Africa. Both were fired by the airline. The Sun reports four employees have been suspended following Saturday's incident.