Passengers aboard a British Airways flight who turned the journey into a ‘church service’ by chanting and preaching for almost three hours have been branded ‘inconsiderate’ and ‘rude.’
Footage shared on TikTok of the London Heathrow to Jamaica flight show a man loudly preaching while standing on his seat, and a woman standing in the aisle, singing, waving and shouting at passengers until they joined in and clapped along.
The videos, viewed over 900,000 times collectively, were shared by fellow traveller Maxine Munroe, 56, who said the singing and praying began one hour into the nine-hour flight, and lasted for approximately two-and-a-half hours.
Ms Munroe, a nurse from Croydon, posted the videos of the 2020 flight to the video sharing app on January 6.
She described the flight as like ‘being in church.’
She said: ‘You will be on flights and people will pray before the flight takes off or if there’s turbulence you might hear somebody pray but not to that scale.
‘I think I was just surprised that this was happening 40 thousand feet in the air.
One woman (pictured) stood in the aisle, singing, waving and shouting at passengers until they joined in
Another man (pictured) was videoed loudly preaching to passengers aboard the nine-hour flight from London Heathrow to Jamaica
‘At some point I was thinking we need to settle down and we need to rest.
‘There were a lot of people who say they don’t think they could cope on a flight like that.’
‘It was fine while it lasted but it’s got its limit and I can understand when someone says that it’s too much.’
Ms Munroe, who was visiting relatives in Jamaica, said the group continued to stand and pray even when the seatbelt signs were turned on.
She said: ‘I did think how long it would be until the crew had had enough.
‘They need to be able to do their job and have the flight under control and it was a bit of an obstacle.
‘A lot of people thought alcohol was related and actually there was no alcohol involved.
‘It was more high on the godly spirit than they were on the alcohol which is why I don’t think it affected the flight attendants as much as people drinking and being rowdy.’
The videos were shared by Maxine Munroe (pictured) on TikTok, who said she understood why some might consider the preaching ‘too much’
The man only stopped preaching after the seatbelt signs (pictured) were turned on by staff and he had to sit down
And although Ms Munroe was tolerant of the antics, many TikTok commenters disagreed.
One comment on Ms Munroe’s video read, ‘Looks a nightmare’, while another said: ‘I’d have found this so rude, they’re making a show of themselves and not thinking of others at all.’
A third comment agreed, stating, ‘it’s inconsiderate. I would’ve been so cross,’ and a fourth added: ‘As a nervous flyer this would send me over the edge.’
However, others were more receptive to the group.
One commenter said: ‘As a nervous flyer this would send me over the edge.’
Another agreed: ‘It was a lovely thing to see and f**k what anyone else says.’
British Airways has been contacted for comment.
