British Airways A380 Pilot Caught Stealing Food Despite £170,000 Salary

LONDON- A British Airways (BA) training captain has been caught stealing food from the airline’s headquarters, Waterside, near London Heathrow Airport (LHR). Despite his senior role and high salary, the captain received only a warning.

The pilot, who has worked for British Airways (BA) for more than two decades, is an Airbus A380 training captain. According to The Sun, he was filmed on CCTV repeatedly taking food and drinks without paying at the self-service café inside the headquarters.

Photo: Clément Alloing

British Airways A380 Captain Stealing Food

The British Airways Airbus A380 training captain was caught skipping payment at the self-service “pavement café” at Waterside.

The café offers items such as sandwiches, pastries, crisps, cookies, and coffee, with customers expected to scan and pay themselves. Instead, the captain treated the café like a free pantry.

The pilot in question holds one of the airline’s top-paying roles, reportedly earning around £170,000 annually.

As a training captain, his primary job is to mentor and qualify other pilots on the Airbus A380, British Airways’ largest aircraft. This senior position means he spends more time at the headquarters than at the airport, which is how the thefts came to light.

Photo: Clément Alloing

Internal Response and Reaction

After being caught on CCTV, the captain was called into a meeting with management. Despite the repeated behavior, he received only a warning instead of more serious disciplinary action.

One insider told The Sun that the behavior stunned executives: “Anyone can make a mistake once, but this was a deliberate act repeated regularly. It beggars belief someone on £170,000 a year could shoplift and save himself a few pennies.”

The same report also highlighted that several senior managers had been seen failing to pay for food and drinks, with warnings issued to them as well.

However, the lighter response sparked criticism, with suggestions that lower-ranking staff such as cabin crew—who earn less than £30,000 per year—would likely have faced termination for the same conduct.

Double Standards in Discipline

The incident has raised questions about disciplinary consistency at British Airways. While high-ranking staff received warnings, lower-level employees in similar situations might have been dismissed outright.

The perceived disparity has fueled frustration among employees and highlighted issues of accountability within the company.

Representative Photo: Qatar Airways (Not related to the article)

Similar Incident

Qatar Airways (QR) has dismissed a cabin crew member after a confirmed theft incident occurred on a business class flight from Doha International Airport (DOH) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN).

The theft, involving a passenger’s mobile phone, has since triggered formal complaints to aviation authorities. The passenger claims Qatar Airways’ compensation offer was insufficient and failed to address the broader impact of the incident.

The incident took place on March 28, 2025, during the final moments of the Doha–Singapore flight. A business class passenger briefly left their phone in a lavatory before landing at Changi Airport (SIN). When they returned moments later, the device was gone. Tracking data later showed the phone’s location at a crew hotel in Singapore, before it was moved to the Philippines.

Qatar Airways’ internal investigation confirmed that a cabin crew member had stolen the device. The airline responded by terminating the staff member involved. However, the carrier’s handling of the passenger’s subsequent complaint has drawn criticism.

The airline’s compensation offer only covered the phone’s replacement cost, SGD 949 (about £560), without addressing the disruption to the passenger’s business trip, which included cancelled meetings and security concerns.

Delayed and Inconsistent Responses

The passenger reported that Qatar Airways initially ignored their inquiries for several weeks. When a response finally arrived, the airline offered compensation limited to the retail value of the phone.

Despite the Security Investigations Manager confirming the theft, subsequent correspondence from the airline mischaracterized the matter as “unattended personal belongings.”

Unhappy with the airline’s response, the passenger filed official complaints with the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority and Singapore’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAS).

The complaints argue that the airline failed not only in preventing the theft but also in addressing the aftermath through proper customer service and adequate compensation.

Photo: Siddh Dhuri | MumbaiPlanes

Bottom Line

A British Airways (BA) Airbus A380 training captain was caught repeatedly stealing food and drinks at the airline’s Waterside headquarters near London Heathrow Airport (LHR). Despite his seniority and salary, he received only a warning.

The case has drawn criticism for exposing double standards in how discipline is handled across different levels of the airline’s workforce.

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