British Airways hostess sacked after Snapchat rant against Nigerians

by Staff writer

A British Airways stewardess has been fired after she was filmed making racist comments about Nigerian people.

Joanne Wickenden, 23, posted on Snapchat from her car ahead of a flight from Heathrow to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, talking about how she was going to handle passengers during the six-hour flight.

But yesterday BA confirmed that she ‘no longer works for British Airways’. 


‘We expect the utmost professionalism from our staff when they are representing British Airways,’ the airline says. 


Ms Wickenden said in the video apparently filmed by a friend: ‘Alright, so all of yous are there getting ready for your Friday night, getting in the pre-drinks, you know, as you do.

‘And I’m here, getting ready to go to work, put on a yellow life jacket, point out the exits, hand out chicken or beef, what sort of Friday night is this for me?

‘The upside is I’m going to Nigeria and there’s gonna be bare B**, I’m joking, I’m joking.’


‘All the Nigerians are gonna be there like ‘gimme Coca Cola, gimme me beef, why you have no beef left? I want beef.’

‘And I’m just gonna be there like, ‘Sorry sir, we ran out of beef’.

‘All
the Nigerians are gonna be there asking for f****** upgrades because
they haven’t got enough leg room because their B**s are in their way.
Big d**** like this swinging from side to side.’

The footage was widely circulated among shocked cabin crew who reported it to the airline.

The hostess, who is reportedly an aspiring actress from Fareham, Hampshire, has since been suspended pending an investigation.

She told MailOnline that she no longer wanted to fly adding: ‘I have been framed by another BA employee. They were encouraging me, egging me on to say things. They were recording me and sent it around to our friends.’

According to MailOnline, she has recently been on the hunt for male company and describes herself as a ‘princess’ on her Plenty of Fish dating profile.

A source told the site: ‘My friend was horrified. BA has a culture of dealing with things like this internally, she passed it to me because she was concerned that nothing was done.’

A friend of Ms Wickenden has defended the flight attendant’s video, saying: ‘She’s not racist, it was a joke between two friends. It wasn’t meant to be racist.

‘She is not saying she dislikes Nigerians and she’s not saying that anyone is better than anyone else.’

The friend added: ‘She’s very upset because now the whole world knows her face and thinks she’s a racist.’