The Only Way Is Essex star Pia Grace Smith has told fans of the reality show that "half the cast" have been removed from a flight to the UK.
Speaking on her Instagram Story from Madrid airport, she bemoaned the fact that she wouldn't be getting home until the early hours after an "incident" saw a number of the reality stars asked to leave the flight.
The cast members had been in the Dominican Republic for filming but due to a refusal to wear masks, they were thrown off the flight home, when it reached Spain.
Speaking to the camera while in the airport, Pia said: "So, 24 hours later, we’re still not travelling."
She continued: "We got chucked off the flight because we didn’t wear masks. There was like half the cast that got chucked off but we’ve had to sit in Madrid airport for 10 hours.
"I’m not going to get back to UK soil until 11.30 so I won’t be home in my bed until 1am."
Pia concluded by describing the situation by saying: "This is nuts"
She then shared a quote which seemed to intimate that a change in direction for her life may be in order.
Were you on the flight with the TOWIE cast? Email webcelebs@trinitymirror.com
The quote read: "Sometimes it doesn’t work out because your Spirit is protecting you. In relationships with certain people, opportunities, and goals. It is not always about readiness.
"Sometimes, it’s for your own good, a nudge in a different direction."
The Sun has reported that the TOWIE stars have been spoken to by the police after their behaviour was described as "lunatic".
The media outlet also claimed that the reality stars were vaping, which was also contravening Air Europa inflight policy.
Hannah Voyan and Mia Sully as well as Pia Smith were among those asked to leave.
A source told The Sun: “Fumes were visible above their seats. They were asked to stop but refused. It was appalling behaviour. Absolutely idiotic.”
It has been claimed that repeated requests from flight crew were ignored and when the aircraft arrived in Madrid yesterday morning, the TOWIE stars were refused boarding for the connecting flight to London.
An Air Europa spokeswoman said: "There was an incident on the flight.
"Following protocol, several passengers were asked to leave the plane for refusing to wear the mandatory masks and one of them for smoking inside the aircraft.
"While leaving the plane, they were accompanied by other passengers without further incident."
A spokesman for the Civil Guard confirmed: “At 2.55pm yesterday (TUE) the captain of the plane requested our presence on board an aircraft at Madrid’s Barajas Airport which had touched down from the Dominican Republic to deal with people we were told were causing a public order disturbance.
“Civil Guard officers found these people a little upset when they reached the aircraft.
“On the indications of the captain and to avoid any more problems nine people, consisting of four men and five women who are all British nationals, were removed from the plane and after the corresponding complaint from the captain they are now set to face a fine.
“While officers were carrying out the process of identifying all the people that were removed from the plane so they can be notified of the amount of the fines at a future date, they ended up missing their onward flight.
“Police were due to accompany them to another flight bound for the UK last night (TUE) so they could leave Madrid.
“No arrests were made and after being accompanied off the earlier flight, the nine people removed were very co-operative.”
A well-placed police source added: “There was vaping going on and they weren’t wearing face masks as they were obliged to do and they were disobeying instructions from the flight crew.
“As well as the nine people removed from the airplane, someone from the programme who wasn’t involved in any of the problems stayed on with them and was also due to travel back to the UK with them on a different plane to the rest of the group.”
The Civil Guard said they had been reported for allegedly breaching a Spanish air safety law known as Law 21/2003
It is thought a police report will now be passed on to the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA), the state body that ensures civil aviation standards are observed in all aeronautical activity in Spain, to decide the size of the fine.
The report is expected to include a formal complaint by the Air Europa captain about the actions on board the plane he was in charge of.
The Mirror has contacted ITV Be for comment.
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