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Home » British Airways » How British Airways Defused A Ticking Time Bomb (Angry Passenger)
British Airways

How British Airways Defused A Ticking Time Bomb (Angry Passenger)

Matthew Klint Posted onJuly 2, 2022November 14, 2023 13 Comments

a group of people in an airplane

There was one incident on my British Airways flight to Los Angeles that I did not mention in my trip report: how the crew dealt swiftly and gracefully with an angry passenger who refused to wear a mask and appeared, at least initially, to be a ticking time bomb.

British Airways Flight Attendants Calmed Down An Angry Passenger, Avoiding An Unnecessary Ejection

The mask mandate is over and I am glad of that, but was still in force during my journey from London to Los Angeles on British Airways last August. It was during that period that we saw headline after headline of passengers being ejected from flights or flights diverting over mask compliance.

That could have happened here…but it didn’t. And I think the way BA handled it was very wise and instructive.

A woman, pictured above (I’ve blurred her face), was not happy about something. She spoke harshly to flight attendants, refused to sit down after the aircraft doors had closed, and did not wear her mask. From what I could gather, she was upset over a member of ground staff.

British people, if I can so generalize, are polite to a fault. I think many U.S. flight attendants would not have engaged, but instead simply thrown the woman off, since they did ask several times for her to put her mask on as she expressed her frustration.

But sometimes people just need to calm down and all is well. The crew gave her a moment to vent, the purser stopped by to listen to her concerns, assured her that she took them seriously, and then asked her (“for the benefit of those around you”) to “please” put your mask back on. She did, and was quiet the rest of the flight.

Some mask violators during the pandemic were just obnoxious idiots, but this woman was not one of them. She was just upset…and sometimes we do get upset and don’t always think clearly (in terms of opening ourselves up to being thrown off for not following the rules).

Most people will calm down if you just show them some respect, like this crew did. It wasn’t their problem, per se, but even if they could do nothing in the moment to address what had occurred earlier, they could certainly be an antidote by expressing care while still being firm concerning the mask guidelines.

CONCLUSION

A nice word does not always solve the problem. Had this woman continued to refuse to wear her mask, the crew might well have had to re-open the aircraft door and had her removed. Thankfully, the incident did not escalate to that point and the passenger calmed down. To the BA flight attendants on my flight, well done.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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13 Comments

  1. Mike Reply
    July 2, 2022 at 9:50 am

    *Defused

    Diffuse(d) = spread over a wide area or between a large number of people.

    Defuse(d) = remove the fuse from (an explosive device) in order to prevent it from exploding / make (a situation) less tense or dangerous.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      July 2, 2022 at 10:39 am

      I make this error over and over. I don’t get why I have trouble wit this particular word.

      • Lukas Reply
        July 2, 2022 at 2:27 pm

        I don’t think you’ve ever had an article where something was diffused. When in doubt, use defused.

    • Jonh Reply
      July 3, 2022 at 6:20 am

      I am lonely and have no life, I live to post Typo corrections because I am small. Thx Matt.

  2. Jimmy Reply
    July 2, 2022 at 10:06 am

    Listen to people and be respectful is always good advice, but especially while traveling. Thanks for the reminder.

  3. Santastico Reply
    July 2, 2022 at 10:25 am

    “refused to sit down after the aircraft doors had closed, and did not wear her mask”.
    I wonder how many people she contaminated during the few minutes she didn’t wear her mask.

    • James Harper Reply
      July 2, 2022 at 11:54 am

      Contaminated?

      With what?

      As a doc I’m very interested in your response.

      • Santastico Reply
        July 2, 2022 at 12:00 pm

        With Covid. She was not wearing a mask for couple of minutes.

  4. Gate Agent Reply
    July 2, 2022 at 1:26 pm

    As a gate agent, I have done all the above and was assaulted twice for being nice and trying to diffuse. It doesn’t work in many instances. Some people want their pound of flesh. No more nice guy here. That’s what happens in the real world.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      July 2, 2022 at 1:28 pm

      Agreed – it is a fine line to walk.

  5. Tony N Reply
    July 2, 2022 at 5:21 pm

    There’s always a cultural component to relating to people. Maybe the British are calmer and Americans are more Aggressive police style? May be a stereotype/generalization, but I do believe that.

  6. JorgeGeorge Paez Reply
    July 3, 2022 at 12:05 am

    I don’t understand this rush to blur perpetrators faces.
    They’re in public, they’re behaving badly, why protect the guilty?
    It’s just encouraging them to continue bad behavior because of no consequences.
    SMH…..

  7. Scott Reply
    July 6, 2022 at 4:40 pm

    “Some mask violators during the pandemic were just obnoxious idiots”

    Forget about the mask…refusing to take her seat, whining to FAs about a gate agent? She clearly fits the “obnoxious idiot” descriptor.

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