Alec Baldwin kicked off LA flight for playing game

Alec Baldwin has voiced his anger after being kicked off a flight (Getty Images)

Alec Baldwin has made a fresh addition to the annals of celebrity misbehaviour after being thrown off a flight for committing the mortal sin of playing online Scrabble.

The actor was forcibly removed from an American Airlines plane at LAX airport in Los Angeles last night, after apparently refusing a stewardess’s request to turn off the electronic device on which he was considering his next move.

In keeping with modern protocol, he immediately vented his frustrations via Twitter, saying: “Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS [with] FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving.”

The game, a form of Scrabble which is largely played with friends and acquaintances via the Facebook social network, can be highly addictive, and onlookers reported that Baldwin had reacted angrily to being required to stop.

Michael J Wolfe, a former President at MTV, provided an eye-witness account of proceedings via Twitter. “Alec Baldwin removed from the plane,” it read. “We had to go back to the gate. Terrible that everyone had to wait.”

Grant Cardone, a traveller who overheard airline staff discussing the incident, told reporters that the official reason for his expulsion from the flight was: “abusive conduct to a flight attendant.”

Baldwin has suffered from serious anger-management issues in the past, but the FAA said “abusive conduct” is not an arrest-able offence. At the very worst he could be required to pay a fine

The actor was returning to New York, where he films the TV series 30 Rock, from Los Angeles, where he had been a speaker at Monday’s 30th birthday celebrations of the liberal lobby group People for the American Way.

His original Tweet concluded that it was no wonder American Airlines had recently filed for bankruptcy protection. After being re-seated on a flight an hour later, he informed fans: “the flight attendants already look... smarter.”