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Joker Duke in air scares gaffe

From the archive, first published Saturday 2nd Dec 2000.

The gaffe-prone Duke of Edinburgh landed with a crash at Gatwick Airport when he told a line-up of cabin crew he was surprised they were not all dead.

Prince Philip saved his trademark quip for the final moments of a trip to GB Airways' new Beehive head-quarters at the airport yesterday.

Himself a keen helicopter pilot, he engaged in banter with around ten cabin crew and pilots over recent scares about air safety.

"When you think about all the publicity about planes being dangerous to fly in," he went on, "I wonder, 'Why aren't all of you dead?'."

Staff later insisted they were not offended by the remark.

One senior employee, who refused to be named, said: "That's just a joke. I have known Prince Philip for many years. That's the way he is. He always says the odd controversial thing."

Public affairs spokesman for GB Airways Jason Nicholls said: "It was a bit of light-hearted banter, one of those comments we don't want to make a meal of."

The Duke is well-known for making bloomers in public engagements. He caused outrage over the Dunblane tragedy when he asked if cricket bats would be banned if a cricketer went into a school to batter a lot of people to death with one."

Last year he told deaf youngsters standing by a steel band at a Cardiff youth festival: "Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf."

He has also told British students in Beijing: "If you stay much longer you'll be slitty-eyed" and asked a Scots driving instructor: "How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass?"

The Duke looked relaxed earlier as opened the centre and officially presented the firm with the Queen's Award for International Trade, which it was awarded in April for its success in overseas business.

As he unveiled a plaque he apologised for being late and, seeing trays of drinks, joked "I see it's mostly orange juice, so no-one is going to keel over."

He recalled his first fight to Paris from Croydon Airport in a plane that did 100 mph and said: "You sat in a cabin that was the size of a railway carriage. It was a great deal more comfortable than it is nowadays."

The Duke spoke to staff and dined with more than 100 guests on a Mediterranean salad of mixed grilled vegetables, rack of lamb and treacle tart, with Spanish wines.

Making the Queen's Award, the Duke said he was in the group that started it but it was the first time he had presented one.

He told guests from GB Airways: "I would like to hand it over with my warm congratulations and hope that you might win another one."

Chairman of GB Airways, a subsiduary of British Airways, Joseph Gaggero said the visit of the Duke made it a "special and memorable occasion for the airline."

As the Duke arrived he said to Crawley MP Laura Moffatt: "You got away then?" referring to her duties in the House of Commons. Mrs Moffatt replied: "I have."

The circular white-walled Beehive building, a listed building, was Gatwick's first terminal building and cost about £2 million to restore.

GB Airways has a 25-year lease on it from BAA Lynton, the property arm of BAA.

The firm flies a fleet of ten planes from Gatwick and Heathrow to 17 destinations in Spain, Portugal, Morocco. Gibraltar, Malta, France, and Tunisia and employs about 600 people.

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