'Topless cabin crew pool parties' threatening BA flightsPA


British Airways bosses have been forced to issue warnings to its staff after hotels have complained about raucous behaviour during overnight stops.

Rumours of topless air hostesses and booze-fuelled parties have reached management's ears, and captains have been told to keep their crews under control.

The problem is apparently more prominent on routes crewed by young staff - known as 'mixed fleet'.

A BA source told the Daily Mail: 'Mixed fleet crews are basically kids of 18 and 20 years old, in their first jobs on pretty low pay, who think it's a wonderful life staying in posh hotels.

'They pilfer champagne from the aircraft to drink in the crew hotels because buying their own drinks in a five-star hotel is too expensive.

'Then they run amok, holding wild room parties and going topless in the pool.'

It has even been warned that long-haul flights to Nairobi could become 'financially unviable' if the out-of-control partying doesn't stop.

An internal memo sent to BA captains reportedly detailed complaints received from the Nairobi base, and a warning that as it is the only 'approved' hotel available to them, if they decided not to renew the contract, the route - which is worth millions of pounds - would become unviable.

A separate email warned crew members that they faced the sack if they were caught taking alcohol off the plane without paying for it - they're only allowed to buy it under a 'crew purchase scheme' at a reduced rate.

The BA source added: 'Often when away from home, crew have room parties. Crew are able to buy cheap alcohol on board the aircraft and consume this in hotel rooms, thereby avoiding expensive bar prices. Games often played are variations on "spin the bottle", "truth or dare" and "I have never...".

'The room parties often get quite wild. I have seen damage occurring to the hotel, I have seen nudity and streaking. I once saw two male crew members leaving the room party with a male pilot, and they reported the next day that they had a 'threesome' with the pilot.

'When away from home, crew are accommodated at British Airways' expense in luxury hotels. The agreement between the union and BA means we have to be put up in somewhere with restaurants/bars etc, therefore we end up staying in some of the world's finest hotels.'

A BA spokesman told the Mail: 'We speak to all of our hotel suppliers on a regular basis. We purchase around 5,000 hotel rooms a year in Nairobi for our crew and have received a small number of concerns from the hotel.

'We take any complaint extremely seriously and have reminded our Nairobi crew of the high standards that are expected of them when off duty overseas.'

Other routes allegedly suffering 'bad behaviour' complaints include Mauritius, Las Vegas and San Diego.