A British Airways flight captain who was held at gunpoint in Johannesburg and then stabbed and robbed has been sent back to the United Kingdom (UK).
The attack took place last week when the pilot and his colleague went jogging outside Melrose Arch in Johannesburg. Daily Mail reports that the two were for a while during a layover in Johannesburg.
British Airways confirmed to RNews that the captain and his colleague have traveled back to England, where the airline will continue to support them.
It is unclear what the extent of the pilot’s injuries were and whether his colleague was also injured. The airline also did not specify what was stolen from them.
According to Daily Mail, a single attacker rushed at the pilot and his colleague, pointed a firearm at the pilot and then stabbed him in the thigh with a knife.
The pilot was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment.
However, The Mirror reports that the pilot and his colleague broke British Airways’ strict rules for crew members by going jogging. The regulations stipulate that the airline’s staff members stay in a secure and approved complex where the crew’s hotel is based.
The complex where the hotel is located is in the Melrose Arch neighborhood. It is considered one of the safest places in Johannesburg and is patrolled by security guards 24 hours a day, the report says.
An anonymous source told British publication The Sun that the airline “has rules for a reason”.
“Crew members are ordered not to leave the hotel complex, but the captain and crew decided to risk it and go jogging,” the source said.
“It was a terrifying ordeal… Everyone is just thankful he is okay. It could have been so much worse.”
