Overweight British Airways Passenger Gets Stuck in First Class Seat on Lagos to London Flight

"Thankfully, the aircraft landed safely" Well I'm glad. Write anything, just to make the story more than it really is. The passenger wasn't aware of his situation until after the plane had landed, yet somehow, the crew managed to land safely.

Had to deal with an over weight fellow passenger. Returning from London to Tampa, the middle eastern man, wearing a winter trench coat during the flight, in the dead heat of summer. I was able to lift up my aisle seat arm rest, but was soon told it had to be down. I told the flight attendant, its impossible to sit here, and have the passenger next to me, taking part of my seat. She said follow me and moved me to business class seating. I can fully understand overweight folks, but they can hinder another passengers space, comfort and safety of having to exit the plane in an emergency. The airline industry needs to stop making seats smaller and the distance between seats as well as come up with a better way to allow the o/w psg's to book seating.

Airlines should put a couple of rows of extra large seats for extra large people. And extra large people should pay a higher price for their extra large seats. After all, airplanes are limited by weight, not number of people.

This would also make it much nicer for normal size people. I am tall and of athletic build, but not overweight. For me, economy seats are already a torture. But they become unbearable if I am sat next to an overweight person, as constant touch becomes unavoidable. I imagine that's not all that nice for the overweight person either. If I could have a 125% seat for 125% the price, I would buy it every time.

my goodness! he was in a first class seat and they had to remove a door to get him out??how large was this person?in coach i know passengers are requested if a flight is going to be full, to purchase 2 seats..when not full, an agent usually will try to seat the person with no one next to him/her where they can raise the armrests..planes today are "squishing" people topgether in smaller seats,with not only less movement,but less legroom,and despite calls to change that,nothing is happening..oh well..

Lizzo knows this horror.

The first results after the switch from Pretzels to flapjacks are in :D

Spacious 22” width? In what world is that considered “spacious”?

That pic is of a fat person but not THE fat person stuck in the seat.

Seattle to London, British Airlines business seating is like an after thought. No heavy person could squeeze around seats to get to the seat by the window!

It would be interesting to explore how Japanese airlines handle sumo fighters nowadays; long time ago, they were allowed two seats in economy class.

by the way, that picture with the article is NOT one of the passenger written about, but a "stock photo" of a coach passenger with a bit of a belly strapped comfortably into a seat..!

Stories like this seem to be very popular. I guess that’s because, on some level, we can all relate.

Had the same problem as Lee Smith below, when I used to fly for business. It was a DH-8 from YFC to YOW. The woman was proud to announce to anyone who would listen that she weighed 440 pounds, and yes, she was seated right next to me. I was squashed against the bulkhead for almost 2 hours and the crew couldn’t have cared less. I should also mention that she absolutely stank. I was not able to move very well for some time after we landed and the crew just shrugged. I am way more careful with seat selection these days, but I fly a lot less. That was just about my worst flight ever. PK

Uh, maybe time for a physical and AA prescribed diet. A little gym work would be good. First class seat, total shame.

I'm a big boy, and I have never had problems when I have flown. I always get a window seat since I do a lot of aerial photography. The airlines have always graciously provided me with seat belt extenders and passengers sitting in the middle seat have always thanked me for my consideration for not getting up and down. I take care of those things before the flight. I have never heard of anyone so wedged in that they could not get out of a seat after a flight. If he was THAT large the airline should have acted BEFORE the aircraft took off.

Just like your cary on, they should have a mock up. If you don't fit you don't fly.

This is going to sound bad but there has to be a weight limit that a person can be to fly. The seats are only designed for average size people.

Obisity has become a worldwide problem and the more prevelent in the US,as long as society turns a blind eye and allows excess obisity as normal then people will continue to eat all the junk food.
political correctness also to be blamed.

FYI, this is the seat map for BAs 777-300s: https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/British_Airways/British_Airways_Boeing_777_300.php

Note that FC seats are individual open suites, not conventional seats with arm rests.

If you can't leverage your way out of one of those AND you require the removal of a door to get of the flight, you probably should not be flying, sorry.

Wow, a whole 22" wide seat in First Class! Not very generous I'd say for the $4K he spent on it.

Was it Lizzo?

New Airlines coming soon: Foxtrot, Alpha, Tango Airlines is in the making for those passengers who need a little more space.

My EDUCATED GUESS as a Retired Commercial Pilot... If you had not been a lard-butt, you would not have BEEN in this situation. Next time if you do not feel the NEED to LOSE WEIGHT.. Try "DHL CARGO"! What a silly ass Story!

Again some people speculate and jump to conclusions as “ the jury , the judge and the lawyer “ they would talk and vilify, trash a person like if they were present on that flight and that it has “ affected their lives “ and made it “ miserable “
First of all the person has paid for his ticket .
Therefore it is a contract to honor and insure . His safety and wellbeing .
The Airline company (s) have their own protocol and/ procedures and must abide by the states laws and international laws .
Thing must be sort out prior to passengers boarding a flight . There are laws protecting people with disabilities and other health problems.
A person cannot be denied boarding for being too large .
If the airline accepts the person to pursue his/ her trip , then the airline is responsible to do wherever it can to accommodate the passenger.
It’s not the Captain’s job nor the flight attendants to remove a seat or modify it . They don’t have time for these things . They can only brainstorm the best solution to find a solution without disrupting the flight , offending the person and creating a disservice for other passengers.
However to make “ an emergency landing “ to remove a “ large ticketed passenger from first class , not the wise and right decision in my own logical opinion.
There is a solution to every problem.

Start weighing passengers with luggage. If you're that overweight you get and pay for a "fatty seat." You board first and everyone boarding the plane gets to walk by you to see your oversized fat throne.

That is not a first class seat on any commercial airplane.

That is just absurd and ridiculous. Overweighed people need to pay more for extra room. This obese man probably deteriorated the first class seat with his extreme weight. The next passenger will go uncomfortable with a broken seat.

When I worked at pan am in Miami our New York crew chief always used to tell us about the lady that flushed the head while sitting on it, they had to remove the head from the floor and take the whole assembly out of the aircraft with a forklift.

thats hilarious

Just my $.02 worth...if you need a crane to exit passengers from an aircraft, that passenger obviously shouldn't be on a plane...maybe a ship.

It is possible to be too skinny to fly?

Sounds like I am going to have to shed a few stones before I fly internationally!

We want photos of the removal of the seat from the airplane!

Overweight should pay more, not block emergency aisle.

"Sorry folks, we're still waiting for the cherry picker to arrive so we can deplane the 1st class"!

Imagine the possibilities of an urgent need to get to the lavatory by this behemoth. Then everyone would really need the oxygen masks to drop--AND WORK--and, honestly, that person would, if able to manage to slip out of the seat, then be in line to get out the emergency door and potentially blocking it with all of all stuck BEHIND.

The last time I flew British they were actually BOAC and flying from JFK to BDA in an almost empty business class cabin of their 747 was a blast.

I mean, we all like pasta or a good steak but DAMN!

Another reason for the airline industry to set an average weight for passengers and charge extra for those who weigh more than the average weight for flying. It's painfully obvious that passengers who need to raise the armrest to sit in a seat only pay the same as those who don't need to!

And to think...back in the '80s when I was working for an airline, the average passenger weight was set at 165lbs on the weight and balance sheet.

I hope they charged him for the “rescue” and the delay of the aircraft. Imagine sitting for that many hours? No wonder he’s such a fatass

OMG... And the even have a picture... That is Funny... I just hear a call to Maintenance now: "Hello, Maintenance, We need a Mechanic to disassemble a seat in first class due to a First class passenger is stuck in the seat!" :)

An appropriate amount of duck fat strategically applied and the passenger shoul slip right out.

Eat properly. The obesity issue then is resolved. Eating properly can be accomplished.
Once I weighed 361 pounds, it to a size 56 (US) Long to contain me. It's now 45 years later, I weigh 200 pounds and wear a 43 Long suit.

Interesting, "the passenger was mortified." As a side bar for those who say they can't lose weight, there were no fat people at the end of the Bataan Death March, nor in concentration camps. Cause and effect, eat less, lose weight. One's choice.

The incident took place on July 29, 2023, during a 6-hour flight on a Boeing 777-300ER aircraf

It is disappointing to see the number of people making negative comments about obese people. Contrary to popular belief every fat person didn't get that way by overeating. If the airlines were not so focused on squeezing everyone into a silver sausage like sardines there would be room for comfort and it would only come at the loss of a few seats.

He was a climate activist whose bottle of superglue inadvertently opened when the cabin pressure was reduced due to the altitude of flight.

Fat passengers overflowing their seats should have to pay the price and fly 1st class. On a flight more than an hour, I'm not putting up with some fat F.

He can CHOOSE to lose the weight. It's not as if he has cancer or is without a limb. Come on.

I am more worried about the unbelievable amount of duty free, combustible alcohol that people are allowed to bring on board and stuff in the overhead.

Simple really - You eat all the pies, you're not in the skies.

🤣😆😂😄😂