Drunk cricketer tries to open aircraft door in mid-air search for the toilet

A Sri Lankan cricket player sparked panic on a British Airways flight from St Lucia to Gatwick when he tried to open the cabin door at 35,000 feet.

The man, who had reportedly been drinking for four hours before he boarded the plane, spent several minutes pulling at the cabin door, before telling crew that he had been looking for the toilet.

The Telegraph reports that the man was spotted pushing and pulling at the exterior door for up to two minutes, around six hours into the eight-hour flight.

Passenger Charlene Francis, from Willesden, London, told the Daily Mail: "Suddenly he came over and tried to open the cabin door several times. It went on for a few minutes. He was pulling quite heavily.

"The BA flight attendants came running down the aisle and tried to calm him down. He seemed quite disorientated."

She added: "It was very scary. He looked very dazed or drunk. He had a blue polo shirt and the team logo along with his team-mates. Some of his team-mates were shouting and telling him to stop."

She later heard the man tell cabin crew that he had been looking for the toilet - an account which has been confirmed by BA.

A British Airways spokesman told the Telegraph: "During the flight a man got up and tried to go to the toilet. But instead of going to the toilet he tried to open the aircraft door in mid-flight. The event was linked to an element of alcohol. He explained his mistake and the cabin crew accepted it in good faith."

The spokesperson also stressed that it is impossible to open the pressurised door in mid-flight.

At Gatwick the passengers boarded a flight for Sri Lanka. Officials confirmed that the man was a Sri Lankan cricketer but did not name him.

Click on the image below for some celebrity in-flight antics...

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