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An unruly British Airways passenger caught vaping in a toilet during a flight from New York to Heathrow Airport allegedly threatened to "bash" a couple's heads together, a court has heard. Louis Gaston, 31, made the threat to two fellow travellers while trying to get to his bag after landing, Uxbridge Magistrates' Court was told.

He had been caught vaping in the toilet towards the end of the flight in November 2025 then sat in the wrong seat. The court heard when the plane landed he tried to make his way back to the correct seat, but had to force his way through as the aisle was full.

Unable to find his bag, magistrates were told he repeatedly threatened a couple from the US, trying to push past them "three or four" times.

On the last occasion, Gaston put his hand on the woman's arm and hip then shoved her into her seat so hard she was bruised, the court heard.

Gaston denied the charges, but was found guilty of two counts of assault by beating, one count of failing to obey the lawful commands of a pilot while on an aircraft, and one count of smoking in an aircraft on Wednesday (May 5).

From Lambeth in south London, Gaston is due to be sentenced in June.

The court heard the incidents took place on six-hour overnight flight BA172 from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow on November 23 last year.

Flight attendants were getting ready to land at around 8am when they noticed Gaston out of his seat.

A cabin crew member told the court how she found the defendant in one of the plane's toilets and knocked on the door, telling him to return to his seat so the jet could land.

When Gaston opened the door, the lead cabin crew member said she could detect "a weed smell", likened to CBD oil, and see a "vapour mist" in the toilet before Gaston shut the door on him.

In court, Gaston insisted the smell and vapour were from the plane's air freshener, which he had sprayed after "relieving his bowels".

But the cabin crew member and a colleague said it smelled nothing like the air freshener used on board their planes.

The second crew member pushed the bifold door open and again told Gaston to return to his seat. He shouted, accused the flight attendant of coming on to him and said he was going to make a complaint.

The court heard Gaston had admitted to being a regular cannabis smoker who "smoked a spliff" in New York prior to his flight home and had drunk "two or three" gin and tonics as well as some vodka at the time of the flight. He denied he was drunk onboard.

Gaston went on to sit in a seat near the toilet, ignoring instructions to put his seatbelt on. A nearby passenger put it on for him, the court heard.

After landing, the court heard Gaston "forced his way" through "very full" aisles as he tried to return to his correct seat to collect his hand luggage while the plane waited for around an hour for buses on the tarmac.

Husband and wife Zachary Lowry and Laurel Dillon asked Gaston if he could wait to get through as the aisle was very full.

Gaston admitted that he chose to push past them to get to his seat.

Unable to find his bag, he repeatedly threatened the couple and pushed past them "three or four" times, the court heard. On the last occasion, Gaston placed his hand on Ms Dillon's arm and hip as he shoved her into her seat so hard she sustained bruises.

In court, Gaston denied pushing either of them with any force beyond "brushing past" them, but admitted he had said "move out of my f****** way" or "let me f****** get by".

Addressing the court via video link from the United States, tearful New Yorker Ms Dillon recalled Gaston making repeated threats towards her and her husband.

She said: "He was attempting to push past me and I turned and said there is nowhere to move, please go to your seat, which we had at that point discovered was behind us.

"He threatened and said, 'You do not want to see me off this plane, you had better move or I will hurt you' [or] something to that effect.

"The words that were used were, 'You don't want to see me off this plane, you are so lucky we are in here right now, and as soon as we get out of here there will be another story'."

Ms Dillon added Gaston also said: "If you do not make room, I'm going to make room, and I will bash your heads together."

Mr Lowry said being pushed by Gaston had made him "uncomfortable, embarrassed and frustrated".

Also on video link from the US, he said: "We ended up leaving the plane in a police van, but if we'd left regularly I was planning to make sure we weren't being followed, to potentially get away from the individual and [his] associates."

Under cross-examination by prosecutor Rachel Dudley, Gaston said he hadn't been vaping on the plane and that Mr Lowry, described as being six-foot tall, had "forcefully tried to block" him from accessing his seat.

Defence solicitor Stacey McAdam argued the case had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt, as she said nobody had seen her client vaping and he may not have heard the knocks on the toilet door and claimed he did put his seatbelt on.

She added Ms Dillon and Mr Lowry "could've accommodated him as he tried to get by, but chose not to" and her client denied making any of the threats.

District Judge Kathryn Verghis found Gaston guilty of all four charges beyond reasonable doubt. In summary, she said: "I come to the conclusion that you were vaping, you were then unco-operative sitting, so much so a passenger helped you.

"This gives a very clear picture of your defiant, angry, confrontational behaviour. I'm satisfied you were angry and confrontational, you did use bad language. You were barging into other passengers in a crowded gangway when there was no room to move."

She added: "I am sure that you are guilty of all four charges."