Passengers on a British Airways flight claim staff provided a group of men with ‘unlimited’ alcohol, just before a man stabbed a passenger with a broken glass bottle.

Shocking footage showed the moment a passenger was stabbed inside the cabin on flight BA2159 from London Gatwick to St Lucia on Monday.

The fight erupted when a man, who had been arguing with another passenger, went to the kitchen area of the Boeing 777 jet and smashed a bottle.

Seen wearing a bucket hat, he then stormed back into the cabin and plunged the jagged-edged bottle into the other passenger’s body.

He then ploughed the bottle into an overhead locker after the fight where blood was then splattered across the cabin.

Staff managed to wrestle the aggressor to the floor as both men were forced back to their seats, while the pilot was left with no choice but to continue until the plane could land on the island.

Passengers claim a large group of men spent hours ‘loudly partying with an endless supply of alcohol’ provided by BA staff.

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Onlookers also allege the men approached multiple female passengers, whom they harassed or ‘grabbed’ and blocked access to the toilet.

They told MailOnline staff ‘did not intervene’ and ‘poured fuel on the fire’ by ‘ignoring’ rowdy behaviour in the run up to the assault.

A woman said: ‘The main aggressor was behaving terribly in the lead up to the incident, the BA staff were perhaps too intimidated to regain control but the atmosphere was clearly leading to some kind of incident.

‘A handful of men were lingering at the back of the plane for hours, loudly partying with an endless supply of alcohol provided by the BA staff. 

‘They approached numerous women on the flight, myself and a fellow passenger were grabbed by the arm when we passed by and pulled back as they tried to engage us. 

‘Staff saw this and did not intervene, contributing to the escalating atmosphere. Hours passed with women unable to access the loos.’

A second woman added: ‘The man who perpetrated the assaults was approaching lone women on the flight trying to chat them up, he told me both his parents had just died so he’s got a house now on St Lucia and was offering to be the tour guide.

‘[He was] touching my arm and generally making me feel very uncomfortable. 

‘BA flight attendants poured fuel on a fire, they allowed a party atmosphere where people were not able to go to the flight attendants and ask for anything because about 10 men were all stood up at the back of the plane blocking the facilities and drinking heavily. 

‘They were all extremely drunk after two hours and formed an intimidating wall of men at the back of the plane. 

‘All of this behaviour was ignored by the attendants: the harassing female passengers, the blocking of facilities and excessive drinking.’

She continued: ‘It’s very disappointing that BA has not contacted passengers yet even though I’m sure there have been multiple complaints as women near us started panicking and did not stop crying for the remaining hour-and-a-half of the flight.’

The attacker, who is said to be from St Lucia, was reportedly arrested by police when the aircraft touched down.

A bystander who tried to help, also from St Lucia, was badly cut and treated by a nurse on the flight, while all those injured were taken to hospital upon arrival. 

A St Lucia Police spokesperson said: ‘We are looking into this with immediate effect. This is a very serious matter which occurred on a plane. This is very serious indeed.’

The identities of those involved in the incident have not been released.

A British Airways spokesperson said: ‘We’re shocked that anyone would act in this way and are grateful to our highly trained cabin crew and the customers who supported them in handling this difficult incident.

‘We want to assure customers that this behaviour will never be tolerated and we will always take the appropriate action.’

British Airways has been contacted for comment about the ‘unlimited’ alcohol allegations.

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