A British Airways aircraft controller based in London has posed with a grenade launcher in a photo uploaded to Facebook.

Mustafa Aziz, who works at BA's air nerve centre near Heathrow, was on a trip to Iraqi Kurdistan when he took the photo.

The 40-year-old told The Sun that the photo was taken in 2008, before he started working at BA, and he only posed with the weapon to 'look hard'.

Mustafa Aziz, who works as a British Airlines aircraft controller near Heathrow in London, was on a trip to Iraqi Kurdistan when he took the photo with a grenade launcher on a family farm in 2008

The photo of Aziz with the grenade launcher was shared alongside another of a Kurdish militant holding an assault weapon

The photo of Aziz with the grenade launcher was shared alongside another of a Kurdish militant holding an assault weapon.

Aziz has been based at BA's Waterside HQ in Harmondsworth, West London, since 2012.

When working for BA, Aziz is notified of all issues, including security and diversions, affecting planes in the region.

The married man said there is 'nothing menacing' about the photo, which was taken during a trip in 2008.

Aziz has been working for British Airways based at its Waterside HQ in Harmondsworth, West London, since 2012 (file photo)

'It was on a family farm, my uncle's land. They've got guns and stuff there, like any farmers do, and I was just posing, trying to look hard basically,' he told The Sun.

He added: 'That's just me being a Kurd, going back to the homeland, visiting family and just posing really. I do support the fight against ISIS and an independent Kurdistan.'

Aziz moved to the UK as a baby and denied all 'political ties to anything', adding that he loved where he lived and was 'loyal to democracy'.

A BA spokesman said of the photo: 'All employees who work at our headquarters undergo security, criminal record and referencing checks related to their specific roles.'