A viral video captures a surprising scene on a recent British Airways flight: passengers turning part of a long journey into an improvised church service, singing and allegedly preaching for three hours. It’s not every day you hear an airborne version of a street evangelist at 35,000 feet, but that’s exactly what unfolded aboard a British Airways service from London to Jamaica.
Passengers Turn British Airways Flight Into Three-Hour Airborne Church Service
According to posts circulating on social platforms, the flight, a 10-hour journey form London (LGW) to Kingston, Jamaica (KIN) saw a group of travelers engage in sustained singing, chanting, and religious expression after pushback from the gate. While the context and whether the activity was spontaneous worship, a planned group event, or passenger-led entertainment varies between accounts, the video clips suggest an extended period of collective religious expression that lasted a significant portion of the flight. This video was apparently shot in 2020, but has gone viral this week after resurfacing on TikTok. Here’s five minutes of it:
@maxmilliok British airways flight turns into a church service #britishairways #flights #preaching #church#jamaica #jamiacantiktok
I find it very hard to believe that this went on for three hours, through. If you watch the video above, I bet it went on for just a few minutes, not a few hours…there’s no way such a disturbance on a transatlantic flight would be permitted to go on for so long (at least I hope not!).
While most reactions are negative, there are defenders. Some commenters express appreciation for what they see as a communal and uplifting experience. But most (properly) find it intrusive or inappropriate for a cabin filled with a diverse set of travelers, some of whom are simply trying to sleep, work, or rest. Airline cabins are not the Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park.
I’m sure these folks meant very well, but it is totally unacceptable, full stop, end of discussion.
I am a Christian (not of the pentecostal or charismatic flavor) and believe the truth revealed in Scripture is life-saving and life-transforming. But, an airplane–with hundreds of folks trapped in a metal tube–is not the time or place to evangelize.
CONCLUSION
While I recognize that Jesus Himself said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation,” there is deep biblical truth that this cannot be forced, whether by law, fiat, or even by holding an audience captive on airplane.
It’s rude, boorish, and always unacceptable to disturb others on a flight. I can’t imagine that was easy for the crew to handle, but such theatrics have no place on airplanes.
No. Please do not normalize this, or any ‘performances’ by passengers (or crew) on commercial flights. You can have your strongly-held beliefs, but this is not the place for evangelizing or forcing interactions on others, if anywhere.
Sounds like a Ryan Air flight to Ibiza if you don’t listen to the words they’re saying
“While I recognize that Jesus Himself said, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation,’ there is deep biblical truth that this cannot be forced, whether by law, fiat, or even by holding an audience captive on an airplane.” Exactly, Matthew. As a Christian myself, our call is to “spread seeds” and tell others, not forcing them like the Spanish Conquistadors. Only by God’s will will someone come to faith.
You are a member of a CULT based around a way in the past for rich people to control poor people.
Guess you are dense
So ironic…
I’m very religious and a Christian.
But this is almost as bad as that time Southwest put a ukulele on every seat on a plane to Hawaii.
I’d pull the emergency exit in seconds.
But you think your aviation blog is a place for you to preach and for you to block people who do not agree with you?
By the way what Israel did in Gaza and the West Bank is a massacre which you think is bull shit.
Check out his headline “Israel’s leading Haaretz newspaper reported that the military had accepted the Gaza health ministry’s estimate that around 71,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its onslaught in October 2023.”
Again and again like Trump you can only see the world through your narcissistic eyes.
Yes, because no one is forced to read my blog, unlike folks subjected to preaching against their will on an airplane.
Here’s the sad truth in Gaza: war has consequences and the blood of every dead Palestinian in Gaza is on the hands of Hamas. Israel has a right to defend itself and when women and children are used as human shields, it is not the Israelis you should be condemning!
SATAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 666.
No. Just no. If the flight attendants allowed this for three hours, I would be demanding some form of compensation.
If I had this nonsense inflicted on me at all, I’d want a full refund and compensation from the airline. There is no place at all for others to inflict their religious nonsense on people who are wiser than to believe it.