A Virgin Atlantic passenger flying from London Heathrow to Lahore, Pakistan launched into a horrifying, alcohol‑fueled tirade directed at a flight attendant.
He’d helped himself to ice from the inflight bar. Crew asked him to stop, and he became enraged. He filmed cabin crew, called the flight attendant a “racist b****,” and repeatedly cussed her out. When told to return to his seat, he refused, and things escalated from there. Over the next eight hours and fifteen minutes, he made threats:
- “You will be dragged by your hair from your hotel room, gang raped and set on fire.”
- He threatened to blow up the floor of her hotel, knowing specific room numbers.
- “You’ll be dead on the floor of your hotel.”
Language in the video is neither safe for work nor safe for work from home:
Exclusive: This is the moment a Virgin Atlantic passenger threatened to 'gang rape and set on fire' a hostess, before saying: 'I'll blow up your hotel.'
His abuse lasted eight hours.
Story via Central News: https://t.co/fSArUKZm0k #Heathrow #London #virginatlantic pic.twitter.com/QKH90eDQPS
— Benedict Elliot (@benedict_azt) August 5, 2025
Crew alerted the pilot, and they considered diverting to Turkey. The passenger responded: “Go to Turkey. I have contacts.”
The incident occurred on February 7, 2023 (the route itself was terminated on April 30, 2023). The 37-year old passenger, Salman Iftikhar, was arrested at his home in the U.K. on March 16, 2024. He pled guilty of threats to kill and racially aggravated harassment. Charges for his conduct towards another flight attendant were dropped. And he’s now been sentenced.
His criminal record and longstanding substance absue (15 prior offences include drunk driving, common assault, cannabis possession) were aggravating factors in a 15-month prison sentence being handed down.
Is this real? I was under the impression that Virgin Atlantic had dropped Lahore (and Karachi) a while ago. Did they restart the route?
@Mak — If I understand correctly, this was from 2023 and the new updates are that he was sentenced.
Only 15 months? He got off easy.
@Mak: Articles states that this occurred before the route got canceled (that might have been edited in after you posted your comment). A nasty incident to be sure, but canceling the whole route over it seems like overkill?
What a charmer. I expect that his mom is proud of him. Perhaps dropping him off in Turkey would have been a better option? Parachute optional.
It should have been 15 years instead of 15 months. He should also be sued in civil court for the monetary and emotional damage done.
He got off light. What I’m wondering is why it took over a month to arrest him. He should have been incarcerated immediately.
Importing the third world, becoming the third world
Going to Pakistan, eh? Hmm. And I was told the majority there follows the ‘religion of peace’ and abstain from alcohol. Welp, apparently not that schmuck.
@MGHOW — Thank you (and @Gary Leff) for continuing to refer to that country as ‘Turkey,’ because it continues to be ‘Turkey’ in English, at least. This recent attempt by the authoritarian Erdogan regime to force the renaming and respelling of the country onto others is even worse than renaming ‘Gulf of America,’ in my opinion. Keep resisting that nonsense, and calling it ‘Turkey,’ like the bird we eat at Thanksgiving.
Before I got the passenger name I immediately figured he was a muzzie. Oh and to 1990 above that whole abstaining from alcohol and stuff is BS. Bahrain is their Vegas. I worked with some from the Middle East and they were in the titty bars and drinking every night. The Western Europeans have had enough of their stupidity.
@1990 – “Make Istanbul Constantinople Again”?
@L737 Thanks. Somehow missed that.
What is it with men from “those countries” always being the most disgusting both inside and out?
@Denver Refugee — I’d attend that TED talk… Yeah, as it was for over a thousand years… (it was only officially renamed Instan-bullshi… in 1930, which is relatively ‘recent’ for that city.)
@Walter Barry — Not all, but some, as here and everywhere; once again, you paint with too large a brush, sir. We can and should be critical of this individual, not the entire group/identity. Oh, sorry, I forgot, ‘wOkE iS dEaD’… so nevermind, go on, tell us how you really feel.
The gammons on here are wild. There are nasty white passengers abusing flight attendants and other flyers all the time. Are they muzzies? Nasty people, like you, are nasty, no matter their religion or race, mate.
He’s Indian?? Shocking.
@Craig Jones — An Indian… going to Pakistan?! Next you’ll tell me Turks visit Greece… Impossible!
They need to stop serving alcohol on flights, nearly everyone of these outrageous behaviors seem to come from drunks. I’m not anti-alcohol, just anti-assholes.
What a JOKE and insult to the flight crew and all other crews. With us passengers record, he should have received 5+ years.
Three thoughts, other than that we are missing something here. 1. Was he really allowed to continue this abuse for 8 hours? Surely there were enough able-bodied men on the flight to wrestle this creep to the floor, then ‘attach’ him to a seat somewhere! 2. “I have contacts in Turkey” Who gives a damn? Drop him off in Turkey! 3. Why was he not arrested on arrival in Lahore? Pretty sure that if I had simply lit a cigarette in the bathroom, Pakistan’s finest would still have me in custody!
Not Indian. Pakistani. He’s Muslim but drinking alcohol?
@GuyB
Most of those muzzies are a bunch of hypocrites. The men wear clothes like you and I and for the most part blend in. The women however, with their Darth Vader outfits and such it is obvious. Now many of those so called muzzie men drink and chase women like everyone else.
@Coffee Please — I’d say most ‘religious’ folks are hypocrites, not just Muslims, also many Christians, Jews, Buddhists, etc. Like, so much for ‘moderation’ and ‘enlightenment’ when the Burmese dictatorship is killing the Rohingya. Maybe we should realize the ‘mysticism’ is a load of barnacles, and just simply seek to hold our leaders to account; the fish often rots at the head. If we set better examples, promote decency over cruelty, maybe, just maybe, we get better citizens and less wackos like this fella in the story. Or, we do holy wars, kill each other, etc., because, you know… ‘god’s on our side,’ right?
Well, at least he had the conscience to admit his guilt.
@1990 ah look, we’ve upset a liberal. How did that happen it’s so rare? Oh, BTW, that was sarcasm. I only say that because I don’t believe you have the intelligence to figure it out on your own.
They should have handed him to the Pakistani military.