Three British Airways crew members have been accused of fabricating a robbery in order to cover up their night of excessive drinking in Rio De Janeiro. The incident caused flight BA248 to be abruptly postponed for 24 hours on September 5, as reported by the Independent. The crew members claimed to be too traumatized to work after being robbed and having their phones stolen.
However, the police in Brazil have now revealed that the crew members invented the robbery to avoid facing punishment from their bosses. Inconsistencies were found in their stories, leading the police to question the truthfulness of their claims.
Although one of the crimes mentioned by the crew members did occur, it was discovered that the three individuals had actually gone to an abandoned police station to consume drugs. The Civil Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro stated, “After field investigation and intelligence work, data crossing and image analysis, the Special Tourism Support Delegation (Deat) found that three flight attendants from an English company, who reported having been robbed in September this year lied in their testimony when recording the incident.”
The crew members are now under investigation for falsely reporting a crime. The New York Post also reported that they are accused of using Class A drugs during their night of partying. CCTV footage reviewed by the police shows them near a fuel station at 4.50 am local time.
British Airways responded to the situation by stating that it is a matter for the police and that the flight attendants involved were not scheduled for the flight. The airline did not provide an explanation for the postponement of BA248.
