Airlines (Commonwealth Union)_In a shocking turn of events, a British Airways pilot has been kidnapped and brutally tortured during a short stopover in South Africa, forcing the carrier to call in a replacement pilot. The incident took place in South Africa’s Johannesburg, a city infamous for its poor crime record.
The First Officer with the airline, is believed to have gone shopping on his own in Johannesburg when he was allegedly approached by a woman near a supermarket car park who asked him to help car her bags to her car. But as the pilot stepped near her car, he was dragged and then bundled into a vehicle by a group of men, who drove him to a remote location and allegedly subjected him to hours of torture and physical assaults in order to force him to hand over money. After being subjected to torture for several hours the poor soul gave in, giving them access to all of his money. The incident took place in an area just north of BA’s secure compound in the crime hotspot city, the Melrose Arch complex.
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The Sun reported that although the pilot was forced to cough up “thousands and thousands of pounds” he was said to be happy to have escaped the captivity and not lose his life.
His colleagues at British Airways were left stunned and shaken after the incident, though. A source was quoted as saying by the Mirror that he fell for the scam of agreeing to help a woman in need, and before he knew it was bundled in a vehicle and driven away.
BA enforces strict regulations preventing their staff from stepping outside their secure accommodations in the South African city, notorious for its high crime rates. They provide a designated hotel for employees in Johannesburg’s Melrose Arch area, recognised as a ‘city within a city’ owing to its heightened safety. This facility, surveilled round the clock, offers various leisure amenities such as shops, restaurants, and a bowling alley to enhance guests’ comfort.
After falling for the scam of agreeing to help a woman in need, being bundled in a vehicle and driven away he then endured hours of torture and physical assaults, which only ended when he was left penniless.
The pilot was reportedly deemed unable to fly back to London following the ordeal, and the airline reportedly had to find a replacement pilot.
The airline confirmed that a staff member was abducted outside of the gated Melrose Arch precinct, and stated that it was supporting local authorities with their investigation.
BA said in a statement to The Sun : “A crew member was abducted outside Checkers Bluebird supermarket just north of the Melrose Arch complex.”
The airline told The Independent that they were supporting their colleague and the local authorities with their investigation.
Kidnappings have been on the rise in South Africa in recent years, with South African Police Service statistics suggesting that they have more than tripled in the space of a decade, rising from 4,306 cases in 2014 to nearly 15,342 in 2023.
More than half of all kidnappings recorded by police in 2023 were in the Guateng province, of which Johannesburg is the capital city.
Kidnapping for ransom or extortion has soared in South Africa since 2016 due to foreign syndicates shifting their operations to the country, and local copycat groups mimicking their modus operandi but targeting South African nationals, according to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime’s 2022 risk assessment for South Africa.
However, most of the victims are likely to be low-income citizens who do not report the crime, according to the UN-backed organisation, meaning the police figures could be a significant undercount.
According to a British Airways spokesperson, as cited by the Sun, “A crew member was abducted outside Checkers Bluebird supermarket just north of the Melrose Arch complex.” A BA spokesperson told the Mirror, “We are supporting our colleague and the local authorities with their investigation.”
