Three cabin crew members have been rushed to hospital after unknowingly eating cannabis-laced gummies given to them by a passenger. British Airways staff on the Heathrow to Los Angeles flight consumed the sweets containing up to 300mg of THC, leaving them “out of control”.
The crew ate the gummies following their arrival in LA, according to the Sun. Nevertheless, BA management grounded the entire crew and operated the return journey with a fresh team, The Mirror reports.
The affected staff were transported back on a different service several days later as passengers. The airline has launched an investigation to identify the passenger who provided the crew with the drug-infused sweets.
There is reportedly no indication that any of the crew were aware of what they were consuming and no one is facing disciplinary proceedings.
A source told The Sun it is commonplace for passengers to thank staff with confectionery. They continued: “It is a godsend in this case the sweets in question were not shared out among the crew until they had arrived in the US.”
“They were consumed in the crew bus after touchdown, and tired staff gratefully gobbled them up. Almost immediately BA staff realised something was wrong.
“By the time the group had reached the crew hotel, three staff members who had numerous sweets began suffering ‘out-of-body’ experiences. They felt totally out of control and became panicked and scared.
“Their symptoms became worse and the trio were taken to hospital for treatment.”
BA’s basic economy includes two pieces of cabin luggage (Image: British Airways/PA Wire)
Medical professionals estimated the sweets contained up to 300mg of THC each – putting them amongst the most potent cannabis edibles available.
The source added: “Some people might find this incident funny, but it is being treated very seriously by BA. If an entire crew became incapacitated at 30,000ft after ingesting deadly drugs the consequences don’t bear thinking about.
“Bosses are trying to trace the passenger who tried to get the crew high. The flyer could face multiple police charges.”
British Airways told The Sun: “A small number of our crew reported feeling unwell at their hotel and have since recovered. We sent a replacement crew to operate the return flight and there was no impact on our customers.”
