The attention-seeking Ngizwe Mchunu seems to be good at rubbing people the wrong way. When he is not insulting people on the ground, he irritates flight crew mid-air. This past weekend, FlySafair hosts and passengers learnt the hard way from the former Ukhozi FM presenter when he caused distraction inside the flight from Cape Town, where he addressed students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

WATCH: Ngizwe Mchunu quarreling with a flight attendant at King Shaka International Airport in Durban.
Mchunu and his crew were on a Cape Town bound flight, and they started chanting Zulu traditional slogans, and that led to other passengers to complain. @ScrollaAfrica pic.twitter.com/5BbpMO70V6

— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) August 25, 2024

MID-AIR DRAMA

An entourage of fans were ululating after each word he spoke while others were blowing whistles inside the flight. Mchunu was busy telling passengers to bow when they arrive at King Shaka International Airport in Durban, KwaZulu Natal. He shouted: "Bayede," and his fans followed: "Wena we Ndlovu. He also told air hostesses not to say anything but to bow when he shouted the words "Bayede." Some passengers took issue with him for disturbing the peace inside the flight. Police were allegedly called on the tarmac to remedy the situation when the flight landed. Speaking to ZiMoja, an unrepentant Mchunu said the entire situation was blown out of proportion since they were not disturbing anyone by chanting. The "president" of Amabhinca Nation said they were travelling coming from Cape Town, where he was hosting an Amabhinca Festival when the whole fracas started. He said on the same flight, there were white rugby players who sang mid-air. "They were singing mid-air but no one complained. Do you see racism still exists?" he explained.

BAYEDE

He said it was only when airline employees started complaining, that they decided to sing and chant. Asked why they were singing, he said: "We were happy because we had just had a wonderful and successful festival in Cape Town. We had to acknowledge King Shaka as our ancestor because the airport is also named after him." He said they were quickly stopped by the employees and were told they couldn't sing. "All we did was to ask why, then an argument erupted," he explained. He said they were not allowed to disembark the plane because the pilot had called police. "We sat on the plane for one hour waiting for the police while other passengers left," Mchunu said. He added that though they were delayed by the police at the airport, they were eventually cleared to leave the flight because police could not find anything to charge them with. "We were just singing. There was no drama. I don't know why they made such a big fuss. I was told that they've banned me from flying with them. But who cares?" he said. FlySafair marketing officer, Kirby Gordon, confirmed the incident in a statement. "The cabin crew on flight FA169 encountered a group of passengers whose behaviour was disruptive and in violation of standard aviation safety protocols, including adherence to safety belt signs. Our safety and security team is finalising its review of the incident. Appropriate action will be taken in accordance with our procedures, which may include barring the individuals involved from future FlySafair flights,' Gordon said.