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Two women were removed from a British Airways flight at the Heathrow airport reportedly for quarrelling about a “Make America Great Again” hat.
The altercation began as the women, aged 40 and 60, prepared to board a flight to Austin, Texas, on Saturday.
One asked the other to remove her Maga hat, sparking a confrontation that allegedly escalated to punches in the cabin.
Flight BA191 was scheduled to depart at 12.10pm, but eventually took off at 2.11pm without the two women on board.
The women were both booked in premium economy. The captain requested assistance and police arrived to escort the women off the aircraft.
Afterwards, each filed claims of affray against the other.
“Shortly after 12.45pm on Monday, 28 October, police at Heathrow were made aware of an incident involving two women waiting to board a plane in Terminal 5,” police said in a statement. “A woman in her 40s and a woman in her 60s made counter allegations of affray. Enquiries are ongoing.”
British Airways said in a statement: “We apologised to our customers for the delay and got them on the way as quickly as possible.”
“With the US presidential election so close, tensions are sky high. Airline crew could not run the risk of a full scale punch-up at 30,000ft,” an unidentified source was quoted as saying by The Sun.
“BA officials cannot recall a flight being delayed before due to a passenger’s baseball cap. It was extraordinary.”
The Independent has reached out to the airline for comment.
Red Maga hats, sold on Donald Trump’s website for £50, have previously sparked fights between the former Republican president’s supporters and Democrats.
In January 2019, a confrontation between Nathan Phillips, a Native American elder, and Nick Sandmann, a Covington Catholic High School student, sparked nationwide debate over the meaning and perception of Maga hats in the US.
