A drunken British Airways passenger sparked chaos on a flight that Ed Sheeran was on by hurling racist and homophobic abuse at cabin crew in an air-rage drama has been spared jail.
Racist tirades made by Stephen Bell, 46, included telling air stewardess Sonia Nsonde ‘F*** off monkey’ and leaving her in tears.
Builder Bell, from Aberdeen, had been drinking heavily and made monkey noises and gestures at the BA cabin crew member and then called her colleague Phillippe Baffet ‘a gay c***’.
He has dodged jail for his abusive behaviour on the flight from Miama, Florida, in the US, to London Heathrow in October last year which popstar Ed Sheeran, 33, was also on – after having taken a selfie with fan Dan Haughian before it took off.
Police officers were waiting at Heathrow when the plane landed to arrest father-of-three Bell at just before 2am on Tuesday, October 24.
![This image shows the moment 'drunk' passenger Stephen Bell, 46, hurled racist abuse at cabin crew staff on the BA flight from Miami to London Heathrow in October last year](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/23/77029977-13133551-This_image_shows_the_moment_a_drunk_passenger_allegedly_hurled_r-a-30_1709077637467.jpg)
This image shows the moment ‘drunk’ passenger Stephen Bell, 46, hurled racist abuse at cabin crew staff on the BA flight from Miami to London Heathrow in October last year
![A drunken British Airways passenger sparked chaos on a flight that Ed Sheeran (pictured) was on by hurling racist and homophobic abuse at cabin crew in an air-rage drama has been spared jail](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/23/81799041-13133551-image-a-29_1709076936696.jpg)
A drunken British Airways passenger sparked chaos on a flight that Ed Sheeran (pictured) was on by hurling racist and homophobic abuse at cabin crew in an air-rage drama has been spared jail
Bell pleaded guilty to two count of harassment, including one which was racially aggravated, and of being drunk on an aircraft at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, The Sun reports.
He told the court that he had drank cocktails and beers at the bar in Florida after he had run out of medication for anxiety.
Bell had told a member of the cabin crew that he was ‘drunk but OK’ when he boarded the flight, prosecutor Niamh McDonagh said.
But she said that half an hour after the flight took off, he saw the crew member and shouted loudly and asked her age.
The court heard that another passenger asked him to be quiet but he then became abusive and started to shake the seat in front of him.
Cabin crew then tried to calm the situation down, but he shouted at them: ‘What the f*** are you going to do about it?’
The Sun reports that after stewardess Ms Nsonde came to assist he told her: ‘F*** of monkey.’
He then ‘put his hands under his armpits and made monkey noises and gestures at her,’ the prosecution said.
![Ed Sheeran posed for a selfie with Dan Haughian at Miami before the flight](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/23/77027507-13133551-Ed_Sheeran_posed_for_a_selfie_with_Dan_Haughian_at_Miami_before_-a-31_1709078360038.jpg)
Ed Sheeran posed for a selfie with Dan Haughian at Miami before the flight
![Ed Sheeran pictured in New York in September 2023](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/28/00/76931959-13133551-Sheeran_in_New_York_in_September_2023-a-32_1709078404663.jpg)
Ed Sheeran pictured in New York in September 2023
![Police officers were waiting at Heathrow when the plane landed to arrest father-of-three Bell at just before 2am on Tuesday, October 24 (file image of a BA Airbus A319-100)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/28/00/77027509-13133551-File_image_of_an_Airbus_A319_100_The_passenger_was_arrested_afte-a-33_1709078408097.jpg)
Police officers were waiting at Heathrow when the plane landed to arrest father-of-three Bell at just before 2am on Tuesday, October 24 (file image of a BA Airbus A319-100)
Bell also called Mr Baffet, a steward, a homophobic slur and a ‘gay c***’ – but he was then restrained by a passenger who was an off-duty police officer and the crew.
Ms Nsonde told the court in a statement that the incident made her cry and that it was the first time she had ever been racially abused. She said the incident made her feel ‘very vulnerable in the aircraft as there was nowhere I could go’.
Mr Baffet said that the incident caused hurtful memories of homophobic abuse to resurface and made him question if he should keep doing the job he loves due to the rising frequency of these incidents.
While bench chair Nigel Shock said the ‘particularly unpleasant’ offences committed by Bell were worthy of a prison sentence he was let off with a 16-week suspended sentence and ordered to pay £250 to each victim.
He was also slapped with a £350 fine and ordered to pay costs.