Stock image of a British Airways plane
(Picture: PA Archive)Police escorted a top barrister and his family off a British Airways flight after a row erupted when cabin crew refused to let the children’s nanny sit with them in business class.
Charles Banner QC, 41, had paid out for business class seats but the nanny’s seat had been downgraded because BA had oversold the seats on the flight sparking the argument onboard with cabin crew.
The legal brain had plans to go on a week-long skiing holiday in Turin with his wife, who is not being named, their young children, aged one and four, and their nanny after booking last Thursday’s BA flight 2578 from Heathrow Airport for £1,250.
But Mr Banner said he was “upset” when the row broke out on the plane which eventually led to the pilot refusing to fly unless the family were removed.
He told MailOnline: “If BA had told me that the nanny could not sit with us in business then we would not have travelled and could have got a later flight. But they only told us that when we got to the boarding gate.
“I behaved perfectly but I was challenging the cabin crew because it was the right thing to do. The pettiness and vindictiveness of the staff caused this. I was being very polite about the whole thing.”
Mr Banner estimated the whole incident cost him £4,000 as he said after the row he booked a hotel close to Heathrow and then the family took a taxi to Gatwick Airport the next day where they flew with EasyJet to Turin.
He added: “In accordance with standard protocol in a situation where passengers leave a plane and return landside, the police escorted our family back through immigration. They made clear that this was just standard protocol and that no offence had been alleged or committed.”
A spokesman for BA said: “We do not tolerate disruptive behaviour and the safety of our customers and crew is our top priority.”
The Standard has approached British Airways for further comment on the story.
