Two women have been removed from a British Airways plane at London Heathrow after they reportedly began fighting over a Donald Trump “Make America Great Again” hat one of them was wearing.
The altercation is said to have broken out as they and other passengers waited to board a flight to Austin, Texas, at Terminal 5 on Monday afternoon.
A female passenger reportedly took issue with a red cap bearing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan that was being worn by another woman waiting to board, and demanded she took it off.
The Trump supporter is said to have refused, and punches were allegedly exchanged in front of other passengers.
The confrontation is then said to have continued on board the plane.
The captain called for help, and police arrived to remove the women from the flight.
They were reportedly not on board when it left around 2.10pm, two hours behind schedule.
A Heathrow source described the fight as “extraordinary”. They told The Sun: “Airline crew could not run the risk of a full scale punch-up at 30,000ft.
“BA officials cannot recall a flight being delayed before due to a passenger’s baseball cap. It was extraordinary.”
The Met police has confirmed it is investigating.
“Shortly after 12.45pm on Monday, October 28, police at Heathrow were made aware of an incident involving two women waiting to board a plane in Terminal 5,” said a spokesperson.
“A woman in her 40s and a woman in her 60s made counter allegations of affray. Enquiries are ongoing.”
A British Airways spokesperson said in a statement: “We apologised to our customers for the delay and got them on the way as quickly as possible.”
The fight came as political tensions are running high in the US, as the November 5 general election, which will see Republican Donald Trump face off against Democrat Kamala Harris, looms.
Texas has long been a Republican state, having not voted Democrat since 1976. But support for Trump has dwindled there in recent years, voting has showed, while support for Joe Biden at the last general election in 2020 was the highest Democrat vote the state has seen sine 1976, when Jimmy Carter was elected.
