Virgin Atlantic 'DEI' ad raises concerns after flight canceled as PASSENGER notices bolts missing

A British passenger noticed that a Virgin Atlantic flight bound for New York was missing wing bolts, prompting the flight to be canceled moments before take-off.

Phil Hardy, 41, had boarded flight VS127 at Manchester Airport in the UK on January 15 and looked at the wing, noticing four bolts missing. Ironically, this happened during a safety briefing for passengers. He immediately alerted the cabin crew.

“I'm a good flyer, but my partner didn't like the information I was telling him and starting to panicand I was trying to put her mind at ease as much as I could,” Hardy explained to the Kennedy News agency during an interview. “I thought it was best to mention it to a flight attendant just to be safe.”

“Engineers were quickly called to carry out maintenance checks on the Airbus A330 aircraft prior to its scheduled take-off at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, a Virgin Atlantic representative said.” New York Post reported

(Video credit: New York Post)

Hardy made a video showing one of the engineers accessing the plane's wing with a screwdriver to tighten the screws.

“Hardy said he was repeatedly assured by airline personnel that there was no safety problem with the wing, but his fear grew because of the recent test of than an Alaska Airlines plane he lost his door plug and a piece of its fuselage left mid-flight,” the New York Post added. “Both Virgin and Airbus stressed there was no impact on the safety of last week's plane despite the missing fixes.”

“The Virgin representative said the flight was eventually pulled to 'provide time for additional engineering maintenance checks, which allowed our team maximum time to complete their inspections,'” the outlet wrote.

The airline immediately issued a statement to try to reassure passengers.

“The safety of our customers and crew is always our highest priority and that was not compromised at any time,” a representative said defensively in the statement. “We always work well above industry safety standards and the aircraft is now back in service.”

A New York-bound Virgin Atlantic flight was canceled moments before takeoff last week when an alarmed passenger said he saw several screws missing from the plane's wing. pic.twitter.com/YCt9smp48R

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePress) January 22, 2024

Excuses started coming out of the airline this probably didn't do much to allay fears after discovering the missing and loose bolts.

“Neil Firth, Airbus' local chief wing engineer for the A330, added that the affected panel was a secondary structure used to improve the plane's aerodynamics,” the New York Post wrote.

“Each of these panels has 119 fasteners, so there was no impact on the structural integrity or load-carrying capacity of the wing, and the aircraft was safe to operate,” he stated. “As a precautionary measure, the “aircraft underwent an additional maintenance check and fasteners were replaced.”

The airline rebooked passengers on other New York City-bound flights.

If you think that's scary, wait until you hear how the FAA hires based on diversity instead of ability

— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) January 22, 2024

“We would like to apologize to our customers for the delay in their journeys,” the Virgin representative said in an attempt to further appease passengers.

TikTok libs pointed out to X that Virgin Airlines ran an actual ad promoting DEI and transgender.

“This is a real announcement from @VirginAtlantic. They went all in on DEI. They changed the uniform policy so men can cross dress and non-binary crew can wear pronoun pins. They have drag queen flight attendants . Last week a @VirginAtlantic flight was canceled after a passenger noticed bolts missing from the wing. DEI to the airline industry will get people over,” TikTok's Libs wrote.

This is an actual ad from @VirginAtlantic. They all entered DEI. They changed the uniform policy so men can cross dress and non-binary crew can wear pronoun pins. They have drag queen flight attendants.

Last week in @VirginAtlantic The flight was canceled after a passenger noticed… pic.twitter.com/MvYWNMSjWJ

— Libs from TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 23, 2024

I have no desire to fly with someone who is there to “change the world”. This is not their job. The purpose of an airline is to get people from point A to point B safely, efficiently and comfortably. This commercial screams “your safety is not our concern”.

— Paul in Texas (@PaulMac_in_TX) January 23, 2024

If this video is not a parody, flying customers would do well to avoid flying with Virgin Atlantic.

— Mendy Howe (@MendyHowe12) January 23, 2024

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was his final and most essential command.” – George Orwell, 1984

— Kenny Howard (@God_winsforever) January 23, 2024

Absolutely ridiculous. No one cares what your pronouns are or how you identify yourself. People just want a safe and on time flight.

– The Josh and Artemis Show (@the_jandashow) January 23, 2024

And there's more…

(Video credit: Virgin Atlantic)

Terresa Monroe-Hamilton is a constitutional conservative who researches and writes extensively on politics and current affairs.

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