Virgin Atlantic passenger jailed after threatening to ‘gang rape stewardess and set her alight’

A Virgin Atlantic passenger has been jailed after calling an air hostess a ‘f***ing white Welsh c**t’ and threatening to ‘gang rape and set her alight’.

Salman Iftikhar was on a flight from London Heathrow to Lahore when he unleashed a tirade of abuse at stewardess, Angie Walsh, and promised to blow up the Avari Lahore Hotel, where cabin crew were due to stay.

Footage shows the 37-year-old repeatedly accusing the woman of being a racist and shouting,’ You called me a p**i in front of everybody’.

Another passenger, who filmed the shocking scenes, can be heard saying ‘holy s**t’ as the scene unfolded in first class.

Iftikhar’s wife and three children watched him chugg champagne, film the crew and eventually ‘grabbing and squeezing’ Ms Walsh’s arm and telling her, ‘You will be dead on the floor of your hotel’.

Isleworth Crown Court heard that the incident on on February 7, 2023, was so bad that pilots even considered detouring the plane to Turkey.

Prosecutor Abdul Kapadia detailed how the horror unfolded: ‘During the first meal service, the defendant was seen helping himself to ice, leaning over the bar he was drinking at, and taking ice with his hands.

‘When told to stop, the defendant became irate, and started to film cabin crew with his phone, telling them: “Do not tell me what to do you bitch.”

‘When asked by the cabin crew to return to his seat, he then said: “Don’t tell me what to do you racist f***ing bitch. I know where you are from in Cardiff.”‘

The pilot was then contacted, and turned the seat belt lights on, but that only made the situation worse.

Kapadia said: ‘The defendant then shouted, and said: “Look at this bitch having the seat belt sign on when there was no turbulence. What the f**k is this bitch doing?”

‘Iftikhar returned to his seat and called crew member Angie Walsh a “f**king bitch.”‘

Once the passenger was informed that the flight could be diverted due to his behaviour, his threats did not stop. Instead, he replied: ‘I don’t care. F**k it, go to Turkey. I have contacts.’

The court was told how his three young children were crying and pleading for him to stop, but to no avail.

Kapadia revealed how Iftikhar then threatened to blow up a floor of the hotel.

He added: ‘The defendant knew the specific hotel, but also the hotel room numbers, and threatened the cabin crew with this.

‘He told Ms Walsh: “You will be dead on the floor of your hotel”.

‘Iftikhar shouted at Ms Walsh and said: “The white sheep s**ging b***h will be dead. The floor of your hotel will be blown up and it will disappear.”

‘He told Ms Walsh: “You will be dragged by your hair from your room and gang raped and set on fire.”‘

When the plane landed in Pakistan, no action was taken against Iftikhar.

He was eventually arrested – more than a year later – at his £900,000 home in Iver, Buckingamshire.

Ms Walsh told the court how after 37 years of flying with Virgin Atlantic, she had to take 14 months off work after the threat of being gang-raped and

She said: ‘I can’t quite believe that one passenger has had this much of an impact on my, my job, my career and my life.

‘I am a strong brave, happy stewardess, and loved my job. I am well known within the company.

‘I have been flying with Virgin Atlantic for 37 years. I was working when all flights were grounded on 9/11, and I have even flown into a warzone. But this incident has broken me.

‘But I don’t feel strong enough anymore. I was abused for eight hours and 15 mins. It has broken me. It was a very personal attack.

‘I was doing everything in my power to protect passengers and the crew from him. I felt exposed and vulnerable, especially as we were 39,000 feet in the air. There was nowhere for me to go.

‘There was one moment where I felt I could not cope. I went into the cockpit and had a meltdown. I said to the captain I don’t know what to do.’

Ben Walker-Nolan, defending, told the court that his client was suffering from ‘amnesia blood loss’, which contributed to what happened.

Iftikhar wept in the dock as he was sentences to 15 months behind bars.

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