LONDON -- Mayor Boris Johnson has been caught up in drama with a deranged passenger on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to London. The unnamed man, who was described by a member of Johnson's entourage as "off his head," was held down by cabin crew, and arrested upon arrival in the capital.
The man started causing trouble by singing and shouting abuse. Passengers, Boris Johnson, initially managed to calm him, but his antics flared up again and a scuffle ensued, with one member of cabin staff reportedly sustaining a cut to her cheek.
Eileen Burbridge, a member of the mayor's business delegation to Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, posted a photo of the aftermath on Twitter, telling her followers that he seemed mad, drunk and perhaps under "some other chemical influence."
so impressed w/MH2 cabin crew (Kuala Lumpur-LHR); amazing professionalism/handling of passenger who was off his head pic.twitter.com/IFmUqKsDkD— Eileen Burbidge (@eileentso) December 3, 2014
The mayor's official spokesperson told reporters, “The mayor, along with a number of other passengers and members of the cabin crew, did make several attempts to calm the gentleman concerned, but to no avail."
Police boarded the plane when it landed at London Heathrow Airport at around 5.40 a.m. GMT, and arrested a 43-year-old man on suspicion of being drunk aboard an aircraft.