James Corden was seen having a conversation with a British Airways staff member after a flight from Portugal turned into chaos.
The 45-year-old Gavin and Stacey co-creator looked rather glum during his chat with the airline crew following the ‘nightmarish’ journey. The incident took place as James was scheduled to fly from Faro to London Heathrow, but faced delays along with other passengers.
Given James’ notorious altercation with service staff in 2022, when the British actor’s customer behaviour resulted in him being banned from a New York restaurant, it would be easy for many to assume the worst upon seeing the tense photos of James and the British Airways employee.
However, James’ fellow passengers have quickly dismissed any potential claims of diva-like demands from the father-of-three, commending the former Late, Late Show host for standing up for his fellow travellers and maintaining a positive atmosphere as much as possible during the ordeal.
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Despite the tension, one passenger on board commended James for being a soothing presence amidst the chaos. She suggested that his growing frustration seemed more justified as he stood up for fellow passengers, reports the Mirror.
In a chat with Metro, Vanessa, who was flying with her family, recalled the frightening experience.
Vanessa recounted the harrowing experience on the flight, explaining that shortly after take-off, they were forced to make an emergency return. She described the crew’s instructions: “It was something along the lines of, ‘Gather your possessions as best you can; take off your shoes; and when you’re told to by the airplane staff,'” and added that passengers were told to brace for impact and evacuate through emergency exits upon landing.
Passengers aboard a recent flight were initially reassured there was no cause for alarm, but tension mounted when it was discovered that the wing flaps were malfunctioning. “Basically, what had happened was the flaps on the airplane wing which are supposed to go down when you are in the air won’t go down, which meant that they wouldn’t be able to raise them on landing,” explained one of the travellers.
Following the flap issue, the plane was diverted to Lisbon, where passengers endured a three-hour wait only to be told that the aircraft was grounded and they needed to disembark. In the midst of the uncertainty, celebrity James became an impromptu entertainer.
He was spotted taking selfies with fans, bringing some cheer to the otherwise frustrating situation. “He was just really nice,” commented a fellow passenger.
“He would have been well within his rights to sit and sulk in his seat like the rest of us would be doing but he didn’t.”
Upon reaching the terminal and finding no British Airways staff available, James took the initiative to inquire about the next steps, reflecting the frustration of his fellow passengers. After a significant delay, the flight was rescheduled for the following day and successfully returned to the UK without further complications.
Throughout the ordeal, James demonstrated compassion, allowing women and children to board before him.
This positive recognition for James comes as a refreshing change in the narrative surrounding his interactions with service staff. In late 2022, the BAFTA-winning actor confessed to being impolite to a restaurant server over a disagreement about eggs, resulting in a temporary ban from New York’s Balthazar restaurant.
Keith McNally, the proprietor of Balthazar, caused a stir on social media in October 2022 when he branded James an ‘abusive customer’ after some order mishaps. He briefly banned the international star before receiving an apology from James and revoking the ban.
The controversy began when Keith, 71, used Instagram to claim that one of his waiters was left upset following an incident where James complained about his wife’s omelette containing a mix of egg white and yolk during their visit to the famous New York French brasserie.
The restaurant proprietor took to Instagram to share a snap of James, alerting his followers that the star had been banned from his venues. Keith initially claimed that during a recent visit to his New York restaurant, James lost his cool with a member of staff, reportedly shouting: “You can’t do your job! You can’t do your job! Maybe I should go into the kitchen and cook the omelette myself! “.
Following the alleged incident, Keith announced on Instagram the next day that James had reached out to apologise for his behaviour, leading to the lifting of the ban. However, on The Late, Late Show earlier in the week, James maintained he did not raise his voice or use ‘derogatory remarks’, admitting only to making a ‘snide’ remark about cooking the problematic omelette himself.
On his late-night show, James explained the situation further, saying: “My wife explained that she has a serious food allergy,” after claiming their order was served incorrectly multiple times. “The meals came, my wife was given the food that she was allergic to. She hadn’t taken a bite of it or anything, no worries, we sent it back. All was good.”
He continued, expressing regret over his reaction: “As her meal came wrong to the table the third time, in the heat of the moment I made a sarcastic rude comment about cooking it myself. It is a comment I deeply regret.”
James added, acknowledging his own past in hospitality: “I worked shifts at restaurants for years, I have such respect for anyone who does that job.”
“The restaurant manager and the server were lovely, they brought out four glasses of champagne and we were like “that’s not necessary, we don’t need it, we had a great time. But here’s the truth of it – because I didn’t shout or scream , I didn’t get up out of my seat, I didn’t call anyone names or use derogatory language, I have been walking around thinking that I’ve not done anything wrong.
But I have, I made a rude comment. “”.
Keith responded to James’ televised apology by sharing a picture of the star with his followers and writing: “LAST WORD…….. Last Night on his TV show, James Corden very graciously apologized for his outburst at Balthazar. It takes a real man to do this. In the past, I’ve behaved much worse than Corden, but wasn’t man enough to apologize. For this reason, I’m going to lift the ban on Corden and impose one on myself instead. I’m going to ban myself from Balthazar for 2 weeks. People who live in Glass Houses..”
