London, United Kingdom: Three British Airways cabin crew members were hospitalized after consuming sweets containing a high dose of marijuana that had been handed out by a passenger following a long-haul flight from London Heathrow to Los Angeles, airline and police sources confirmed.
The incident occurred last week after the flight touched down in Los Angeles. The cabin crew accepted what they believed were ordinary confections from a passenger as a gesture of appreciation. The sweets were laced with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) marijuana’s principal psychoactive compound with some edibles reported to contain up to 300 mg of THC each.
Crew members did not consume the sweets during flight operations. Instead, they ate them on the crew shuttle bus en route to their hotel. Shortly after ingestion, three staffers began experiencing frightening symptoms as “out-of-body sensations,” panic, and loss of control. Alarmed colleagues sought medical help, and the affected employees were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
A British Airways spokesperson said the crew members “have since recovered” and that the incident did not compromise passenger safety on the affected service. A replacement crew was deployed to operate the return flight to London while the original team was stood down and later transported back as passengers on a different service.
British Airways has initiated a formal investigation to determine how the drug-infused sweets were brought aboard and whether aviation safety regulations were violated. Authorities are working to identify and locate the passenger involved. If apprehended, the individual could face multiple criminal charges related to drug distribution and endangering public safety.
A source told the Hindustan Times that while passengers occasionally offer small gifts to crew members as a sign of thanks, this case has prompted the airline to review internal guidance on accepting food or gifts particularly international flights where legality of substances may differ across jurisdictions.
There is no indication that the affected crew members will face disciplinary action, as they were unaware of the nature of the sweets they consumed. Passengers on board the original flight were unaffected, and operations continued as scheduled following the medical response.
