As I boarded the Boeing 777 to Chennai all had gone well so far. Check-in went fine and strolled through security. Grabbed some lunch with time to spare before boarding. Could not wait to start the 5,000 mile journey to Chennai. All was going great…until the in-flight movie.

I'm a big Ridley Scott fan so Prometheus seemed like a good choice. Flights I've previously travelled had shown the likes of Air Force One and Con Air so a sci-fi thriller looked like a winner. Now when it comes to films, I'd like to think I'm pretty good with anything squeamish or gory. I coped with the Alien franchise no problem. About half way through, I watched a scene where an alien is being surgically removed from one of the main protagonists. It all went downhill from there.

I felt a little faint so got up to get some water from the galley. As I left my seat I was confronted by a stewardess. She had a nice smile and would describe her as both cuddly and commanding. Asking if I was ok, I said I was feeling a little bit faint and just needed a cup of water. A moment later I found myself lying on the floor, feet elevated on a chair with an oxygen mask over my face. I kept insisting I was fine but it was no use. I felt like I was acting out the flight emergency situation that was lacking in this flight attendant's life. Half of the cabin stared as I was interrogated about my medical history and medication. I thought jokingly saying that the film was a possible cause of this monumental crisis might ease some of the pressure. It didn't. All of the other stewards looked to me and smiled as I finally reached for some water.

As I was escorted back to my seat by the stewardess, I was told to fill in an incident form and that Madagascar 3 might be a more suitable in-flight movie. You could see from the look on the stewardess' face she was so pleased with herself.

As I touched down in Chennai at 3.30am I couldn't wait to start my Indian adventure. Free from both sci-fi cinema and comedic flight stewards.