Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Alahna Kindred

Brit couple's 'nightmare' as they're thrown off flight by armed police for no reason

A British couple's holiday in Canada ended in a "nightmare" after they were removed from the flight by armed police reportedly without any explanation.

Retired surveyor Richard Brailey, 71, and his wife Patricia, 66, were among at least 25 passengers forced to get off the Air Canada flight before it left Montreal for Heathrow.

They say they were not given a reason as to why they were removed, but claim they were later told by airline staff in the terminal they may have been removed for being drunk and not wearing masks.

The couple were left baffled because they had not been drinking and said they were wearing their masks constantly.

The other passengers removed from the flight on Monday reportedly included a pregnant woman, a couple with two children, at least three members of the Williams Racing Formula 1 team as well as the doctor for the Aston Martin team who had been in Montreal for the Grand Prix over the weekend.

A couple have told of how they along with at least two dozen other passengers were thrown off a flight in Montreal, Canada (JessMcF1/Twitter)
The couple say they have no idea why they were thrown off the flight (JessMcF1/Twitter)

Mr Brailey told the MailOnline : "Then they pointed at us, and told the police with them to remove us. We were totally flabbergasted. We had just been sitting in our seats normally with our masks on and looking forward to getting underway."

Mr Brailey also says he didn't see any other passengers misbehaving.

The couple were forced to spend the night in the airport because they weren't able to get a hotel room.

However, their luggage was already on the plane and went to Heathrow without them.

The couple also says that Air Canada was not responsible for them and their sons forked out £1,300 rebooking an alternative flight on another airline.

However, Air Canada then put them on new flights to New York and a connecting United Airlines flight to Heathrow.

The couple had spent four weeks doing a camper van tour of Canada before arriving back on Thursday morning.

The couple say they are seeking compensation for their ordeal (JessMcF1/Twitter)
The couple's luggage ended up flying to London without them (JessMcF1/Twitter)

Mr Brailey added: "It was all rubbish because we had done absolutely nothing wrong. We asked her for evidence but she could not give any.

"Nobody was drunk, and we were not aware of anyone abusing anyone or failing to obey instructions. We were treated as if we were terrorists."

Mr Brailey said he and his wife are now demanding compensation for their ordeal and the money spent on the alternative flights which could not be refunded.

Air Canada released a statement saying the couple may have been removed by accident.

The statement from the airline said: "We are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident involving a group of 25 customers who were removed from our flight from Montreal to London Monday night, due to disruptive behaviour.

"We understand that there are allegations that in the course of removing these passengers, certain unrelated individuals were deplaned as well.

"Some of these deplaned customers were rebooked this morning and are on their way to their final destination. Once our investigation is completed, we will follow up with the customers."

A spokesperson for Montreal Trudeau International Airport told The Mirror: "The Airport Patrol at YUL responded to a situation on board an aircraft on the evening of June 20 and escorted passengers off the plane, at the request of the flight captain and crew.

"The SPVM (Montreal police) was then called due to the number of passengers involved, but did not have to intervene."

The Mirror contacted Air Canada for comment.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.