A British man left with ‘life-changing’ burns to his penis after a hot cup of coffee slipped onto his lap during a long-haul Virgin Atlantic flight is seeking compensation. 

Nicholas Gibbs, 41, was on a flight from Las Vegas to Heathrow with his partner Claire in December 2025 when the cup of boiling liquid fell from the tray table onto his lap. 

Explaining how his ‘badly slanted’ tray was overcrowded with food given to him earlier in the flight, he said the staff onboard placed the cup of coffee down. 

‘They put it on the tray and, almost immediately, it slid off and went into my lap,’ he said, divulging that he was left in ‘absolute agony’.

He has since lambasted the airline’s crew as ‘disgraceful’ as he claims they took 20 minutes to respond to the matter, and even laughed at the incident. 

Mr Gibbs, from Harpenden, Hertfordshire, said the pain was ‘excruciating’ and has had a ‘huge impact’ on his life as he and his partner were trying for a baby at the time, which was delayed due to his injuries. 

He is also a full-time carer for his mother, who has motor neurone disease, and was left unable to provide as much care due to the severity of his pain. 

Mr Gibbs is now taking legal action against Virgin Atlantic, claiming the airline has ‘shown a complete disregard for what happened’ as he calls for hot drinks to be served at room temperature on flights. 

Nicholas Gibbs, 41, is suing Virgin Atlantic after he was left with ‘life-changing’ burns to his penis after a hot cup of coffee slipped onto his lap during a flight from Las Vegas to Heathrow

‘What happened was pretty much unbelievable from start to finish,’ Mr Gibbs said. ‘It was clear the tray was badly slanted and too flimsy to carry the food and drink.

‘I was in absolute agony, but also in complete shock as the excruciating pain was just unbearable.’

His calls for help also went unnoticed, as he claims it took 20 minutes for staff to respond, by which point they merely poured a bottle of water over his lap. 

Describing Virgin as useless, he added: ‘I then spent around an hour sitting on a soaking-wet chair – obviously, I was also in such pain – before they finally applied burn cream on my penis and put a bandage on it.

‘Everyone knew what had happened on the plane and it was really embarrassing when they (two members of the Virgin cabin crew) were attending to me in one of the plane’s galleys.

‘They were laughing and joking about it, too, which didn’t help. I sort of went along with it, but it did make me feel uncomfortable.’

Eventually, he was prescribed paracetamol to ease the pain and was provided with loose-fitting pyjamas as his trousers were sodden.

He was also assured that further medical support would be available upon landing at Heathrow; however, no medics were available to help.

‘By this stage, my penis was badly blistered, and the bandage they put on had fallen off,’ he said.

He added that he has not heard from the airline since, claiming there were no ‘follow-up calls’ or correspondence.

Thomas Roughley, from Hudgell Solicitors, said: ‘This is an extreme case, but the number of injuries that have occurred from hot-drink spillages caused by cups sliding off sloping and defective tray tables continues to rise at a worrying rate.

‘We are also representing a growing number of clients who have sustained severe burns and lifelong scarring from hot drinks without lids – or lids that have not been correctly attached.

‘Moreover, the fact holidaymakers are being served scalding-hot drinks on a plane is clearly something airlines need to urgently address for the sake of their customers, whose safety on a flight should be their number one priority.

‘Nicholas has shown a laudable attitude throughout this ordeal, and we will continue to press Virgin Atlantic to accept full responsibility for his injuries.’

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: ‘We’d like to apologise for the experience Mr Gibbs had onboard. At Virgin Atlantic, the safety and well-being of our customers and our people is always our top priority. 

‘Our cabin crew are highly trained to deliver drinks safely, with hot drinks served below boiling temperature and filled to below the brim in specially designed cups or mugs.

‘This procedure reduces the risks of spills by taking into account confined spaces for crew to operate, customer handling and times of turbulence.’