Married BA pilot is suspended after ‘drunken assaults on female crew’ in South Africa

A British Airways pilot has been suspended over allegations of drunken assaults on three female crew members.

The married first officer, in his 50s, flew into a rage during a night out between flights, The Sun reports.

He is said to have rowed with his 25-year-old lover who had flown with him on Flight BA057 from Heathrow to South Africa on a discounted ticket.

The father-of-two then returned to the crew hotel in Johannesburg and confronted three colleagues in the bar.

The newspaper reported these were a cabin manager, a first class stewardess and an in-flight lead.

Marriott Hotel security staff were believed to have had to escort him to his room as he could barely stand.

However, crew allegedly refused to operate the return flight the next day if he was in the cockpit.

He was flown home as a passenger on a different flight and is grounded.

A BA spokesman told the Standard: “A member of flight crew has been suspended pending further investigation.”

The airline has been increasingly “alarmed at wild behaviour between flights”, The Sun said with Johannesburg getting a reputation as the ultimate party destination for staff.

Bar and restaurant bouncers are reportedly on high alert for BA staff.

Last year another British Airways pilot was sacked after boasting in graphic detail of his wild night of drink, drugs, sex and snorting lines of cocaine off a woman’s breasts during a stopover in Johannesburg.

In January, a third first officer was kidnapped and tortured as he went shopping on his own in the city.