A British Airways pilot had sex with underage boys during his stopovers in India between long-haul flights and showered them with money and gifts, a court here has been told.

Bartle Frere, 50, a former captain with the airline, allegedly arranged meetings with young teenagers during layovers in the country and then had sex with them at his hotel, the Daily Mail reported.

He is said to have tried to re-arrange his flight schedule to the Far East to meet up with the boys, and "begged the victims" to send him their naked pictures, repeatedly told them he loved them and sent explicit texts, the court was told.

The pilot is alleged to have used a false name to book hotel rooms for such meetings and showered them with money and gifts such as iPhones.

In a messsage allegedly sent to an Indian boy, Frere wrote: "I want to hug you and have a bath with you and cuddle you in bed."

Frere, from southwest England's Bridport city, was arrested for indecent assault, gross indecency and child porn offences dating back to 2001.

He was arrested in November last year on returning to Britain, following a flight to Bangkok. He is also accused of abusing two boys in Britain.

The Bournemouth Crown Court Tuesday heard that police seized his mobile phone and found that the day before his arrest he had searched the internet for the term "where to pick up underage boys in Bangkok", the jury was told.

Following his arrest, police discovered messages on Frere's computer which he had apparently sent to three young Indian boys to arrange for a meeting with them in Chennai.