London mayor caught up in MAS air rage incident
London mayor Boris Johnson was caught up in an ‘air rage’ incident on a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to London Heathrow.
The mayor had chosen to fly with Malaysia after a six-day trade mission across South East Asia in what was seen as a vote of confidence for the disaster-struck airline.
But he ended up having to calm down a ‘drunk’ passenger, who allegedly ranted at and racially abused staff on the flight.
According to the BBC, crew and passengers, including Johnson, made several attempts to calm the 43-year-old man, but eventually they had to handcuff him, tie his legs and strap him in his seat.
Johnson had earlier been posing for photographs with fellow passengers, including the man who was restrained.
Fellow passengers tweeted about incident and praised the airline crew for their professionalism.
The man was arrested at Heathrow and taken off the plane by six police officers.
A spokesman for the Met police said he remains in custody after being arrested on suspicion of being drunk on board an aircraft and common assault.
Malaysia Airlines has recently lost two aircraft; flight MH370 which went missing as it travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and flight MH17 which was shot down over Ukraine en route from KL to Amsterdam.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt