WHEN two British Airways pilots were interrogated over a boozy late-night party that breached pre-flight rules, one produced two good alibis showing he was not involved.
For while the captain was fired for knocking back drinks in his hotel room too close to take-off, his co-pilot was able to prove he was enjoying a threesome with two stewardesses down the hall.
Former BA pilot Alasdair Sutherland flew Boeing 747s for the same flagship carrier and speaks out about the incident as part of our probe into the hard-partying culture of some corners of the airline industry.
Recently, an unnamed BA pilot was arrested over claims he secretly recorded his sex sessions with numerous female lovers and allegedly took cocaine.
The pilot was “let go” shortly after the allegations came to light, with a source at the airline insisting: “These incidents are extremely rare, we have hundreds of pilots.”
While there is no doubt that the vast majority of staff are decent, responsible professionals, our probe has uncovered tales of womanising, all-night drinking sessions and senior flight crew at various UK airlines going off the rails.
One pilot revealed that two flight deck crew failed to get any sleep the night before a flight because they were “too busy s***ging”.
In an exclusive interview retired pilot Alasdair, 76, said: “There was one occasion when a captain had a party in his room – which wasn’t unusual – but his went on far longer than normal.
“He ordered some drinks quite late in the evening and signed for them. There was an inquiry, and he was found to have ordered drinks much too late.
“They were flying the next morning and he was fired. His co-pilot was not involved because he had an alibi. At the time the drinks were ordered, he was in bed with two stewardesses.”
The threesome incident took place before Alasdair retired from BA aged 55.
But his former employer is facing an even more serious scandal following The Sun’s revelation that a pilot, 31, was arrested on suspicion of voyeurism on March 5.
The man filmed up to 16 women, many of whom worked as air stewardesses for rival airlines including Virgin Atlantic, without their consent, according to the claims.
He was rumbled when some of the alleged victims – all aged between 24 and 26 – found footage of their hotel room romps on a pornographic website.
One woman claimed to have discovered several sex videos on his laptop and the pilot was also reported for allegedly using cocaine.
The man has been bailed pending further enquiries by the Met Police and he no longer works for the airline.
One woman said: “He would position his laptop with music on, but screen off, in front of us during sexual encounters.”
‘Virtual threesome’
And this is not the first time a member of staff has been accused of voyeurism.
In January this year, BA pilot Tim Capron was hauled before Reading Crown Court over claims he filmed a blindfolded flight attendant without her consent.
Oxford graduate Capron, 38, was also said to have spanked the woman with a paddle during sex after meeting her on Tinder.
The footage was shared with fellow pilot Steven Farnworth in what was described in court as a ‘virtual threesome.’
The woman drove back from his house in Maidenhead, Berks, in tears. But Capron insisted the 2021 tryst was consensual and after a three-day trial, he was cleared of all charges.
Alasdair, who lives in Glasgow and has written a book called A Pilot’s Ups and Downs, says the industry has changed a great deal since he retired.
He added: “It was rare for pilots to date stewardesses in my day. But it was known that one or two guys had a regular girlfriend wherever they went.”
Former BA pilot Nick Eades flew commercial planes for 50 years and he believes that recent scandals could be linked to a change in recruitment policy.
He said: “When I first started flying, the cabin crew recruited were a different type of person. Gen Z are more likely to want to go out and have fun.
“If you imagine you’re a 25-year-old co-pilot going away with 20 people and most of the cabin crew are young girls – of course you want to party.
“For some of these young girls, it’s the first time they’ve stayed in a beautiful hotel and can afford to drink a lot without too much expenditure so they do get a bit carried away.”
Today UK airlines operate a strict ‘bottle to throttle’ policy that bans crew from drinking 12 hours before a flight, increased from eight hours in 2018.
That was the same year BA pilot Julian Monaghan was jailed for eight months after being caught more than three times over the alcohol limit while on duty.
The court heard he drank three double vodkas and diet Pepsi in his hotel room on an empty stomach before boarding a long-haul flight from Gatwick to Mauritius.
Police were called when a technician checking the Boeing 777 noticed a strong smell of alcohol on Monaghan’s breath.
Cocaine parties
But despite the crackdown, recent years have seen an increase in the number of disciplinary incidents involving recreational drugs.
In 2023, BA pilot Mike Beaton was suspended for boasting that he had snorted a line of cocaine off a woman’s breasts during a wild stop-over party in Johannesburg, South Africa.
He also admitted being “so f***ed I couldn’t even lift my head”, hours before flying a packed flight back to London.
In August last year, EasyJet suspended one of its captains after he was reportedly seen roaming drunk and naked through the five star Melia Dunas Beach Resort and Spa on Cape Verde.
All the pilots would take a hip flask and at the end of the flight the stewardesses would fill it up with vodka or whisky so they could drink on the bus to the hotel
Nick Eades, ex-pilot
The unnamed pilot apparently shed his clothes in the early hours of the morning after an extended drinking session in a bar at the West African resort.
He was due to operate a return flight to Gatwick more than 36 hours later.
The budget airline received complaints about the incident and the plane was grounded until a replacement pilot could be found.
Since retiring in 2022, Eades, 69, has written a number of books about his career that can be ordered on his self-titled website.
He added: “My whole career, I never saw anybody drink on the airplane, that was a strict no-no. If you saw anybody, you would have to report them.
“I’m 99 per cent sure I never flew with a crew taking drugs.
“But when I first started flying with British Airways, a stewardess came up to me at the end of a flight and said, ‘Where’s your flask?’ I said, ‘What?’
“She meant that all the pilots would take a hip flask and at the end of the flight the stewardesses would fill it up with vodka or whisky so they could drink on the bus to the hotel.
“It is an incredibly strange job and it’s a lonely job as you are thrown together with a bunch of strangers for up to two weeks.
“There have been a number of suicides, both on flight crew and cabin crew level, where people just get very lonely.”
Terry Tozer was a member of the pilots’ union when a British Airways crew became the focus of a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary in 2000.
Captain Chris Salmon drank seven bottles of beer and more than a bottle of wine the night before a flight from Barcelona to Gatwick, according to the investigation.
He was heard off camera saying: “I can’t believe I’ve got to take an aircraft back!”
His first officer, James Sharples, was alleged to have drunk at least eight pints of beer before exclaiming: “I’m going to do the landing tomorrow, he’ll be f***ed.”
Salmon, who was reported to have slept in the cockpit for much of the flight, resigned and Sharples was fired.
Tozer piloted planes for British Midland, which was later integrated with BA.
He recalls being kept awake by crew with the now defunct Dan-Air, which ceased flying in 1992.
They wouldn’t have had much sleep because they were too busy shagging
Terry Tozer, ex-pilot
He said: “The people that get caught drinking too much usually have an alcohol problem.
“In the days of Dan-Air, you didn’t want a room next to them on a night stop because you wouldn’t get any sleep. They were known as a party airline.
“The culture has changed. With mobile phones and cameras you have to be careful that someone doesn’t film you and the authorities are much hotter on alcohol consumption.
“But I’ve been told of people who had non-stop room parties that were excessive.
“One of them told me about it himself, he was a good friend of mine and the co-pilot was involved as well, it was a joint effort.
“They both would have presented as perfectly normal because they had stopped drinking before going on duty.
“But not before the eight hours rule and they wouldn’t have had much sleep because they were too busy sh**ging, basically.”
A spokesperson for BA said: “Any employee falling below our high standards of behaviour will face immediate disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.”
