First-class Passenger jailed after threatening to rap3 flight attendant (video)

An intoxicated first-class passenger aboard a Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Lahore shocked crew and fellow travelers when he launched into a vile tirade threatening to rape a flight attendant and bomb her hotel room. Salman Iftikhar, a 37-year-old British entrepreneur and founder of the recruitment agency Staffing Match, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months in prison following the mid-air meltdown, which took place on February 7, 2023.The incident unfolded during the first meal service of the eight-hour flight after Iftikhar, visibly intoxicated from drinking champagne at the in-flight bar, began helping himself to ice with his bare hands. When confronted by staff, he lashed out unleashing racist slurs and explicit threats. Dont tell me what to do, you racist fking b*tch. I know where youre from in Cardiff, Iftikhar reportedly shouted. When asked to return to his seat, the father of three became increasingly belligerent, accusing the crew of racism and filming them while hurling abuse. At one point, he threatened a female flight attendant: You will be dragged by your hair from your hotel room, gang-raped, and set on fire The floor of your hotel will be blown up and disappear.  Iftikhar “cried” in the dock as he was sentenced to 15 months in jail.”The white sheep sh**ging b***h will be dead.”A Virgin Atlantic passenger hurled abuse at a hostess, threatening to gang rape and set alightSalman Iftikhar, 37, told stewardess Angie Walsh she pic.twitter.com/cjpvzGdpRE ‘Seeing is believing’ (@dave24144975) August 6, 2025He also identified the crews hotel the Avari Lahore Hotel and even referenced their room numbers, heightening fears among the staff.The veteran flight attendant, who had flown for 37 years, including during 9/11 and in war zones, said she was shattered by the incident. This incident has broken me, she said in a powerful victim impact statement. Never in my entire career have I not known what to do. I loved my job. But he took that away from me.She was forced to take 14 months off work due to trauma.Iftikhars aggression escalated further when he attempted to fight male flight attendant Tommy Merchant, grabbing him and shouting:Do you know who I am? Lets go, right now. At one point, his own wife attempted to calm him down but was shoved aside and told not to speak to the crew. The flight deck activated the seatbelt sign in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, but the chaos continued. Despite the severity of the threats, Iftikhar was not arrested upon landing in Pakistan. More than a year later, on March 16, 2024, British police arrested him at his 950,000 ($1.2 million) home in Iver, Buckinghamshire. Iftikhar pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment and threats to kill. However, he was acquitted of assault and making threats to male crew member Tommy Merchant. His lawyer argued that Iftikhar was suffering from amnesia blood loss during the episode a defense met with skepticism in court.Virgin Atlantic staff were praised for handling the volatile situation mid-flight without further escalation. Passengers expressed horror at the ordeal, many calling for stricter penalties for violent and abusive behavior onboard flights.The post First-class Passenger jailed after threatening to rap3 flight attendant(video) appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.