On Jul 28, 7:19 pm, Stephan in Burlington
wrote:
> On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 18:41:30 -0700, while the Captain of the mv
> Perfecto was guiding her to her next port, Jason P
> wrote:
>
> >> What sort of plane do BA use from Milan then?
>
> >Well, according to Wikipedia they fly BA CityFlyer -- commuters from
> >Milan.
>
> >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BA_CityFlyer
>
> Well, a quick check on BA's website shows that Wikipedia is about as
> good Flight Sim for establishing what equipment is used.
>
> BA's website shows that for next week (I picked a few random flights)
> the equipment that I saw was 757, A-319 and A-320.
>
> Stephan in Burlington
My guess is the group angered other passengers. Pictures show the
plane to be what looks like an Airbus shorty...
More Media info:
Arab princesses kicked off British Airways plane to jeers and
whistles after refusing to sit next to male strangers
http://img.dailymail.co.uk//i/pix/2007/07_03/thani1AFP_228x165.jpg
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani: related to the
Princesses
Three Arab princesses were thrown off a packed British Airways flight
after refusing to sit next to male passengers they didn't know.
The dispute - in which the three princesses from the ultra-
conservative Qatar royal family demanded segregated seating - left the
London-bound plane delayed on a baking Italian runway for nearly three
hours.
Furious passengers whistled and clapped as the row intensified before
the captain eventually ordered the women to be escorted off the plane.
The princesses, wearing traditional Arab dress, were returning from a
day's shopping in Milan. They arrived at the city's Linate airport and
boarded Heathrow-bound flight BA 563, which was due to take off at 4pm
on Thursday.
The women, all relatives of the oil-rich emir of Qatar, Bader Bin
Khalifa Al Thani, were booked into business class in a party of eight
which included the emir and an entourage of cooks, servants and other
staff.
After passengers had fastened their seat-belts and the plane had
taxied on to the runway, two male passengers in the entourage got up
to protest about where the women were sitting.
According to the customs of Qatar and other Gulf states, women are not
allowed to mix with men who are not relatives.
Cabin crew tried to rearrange the seats but passengers travelling
together refused to give up their allotted places. The captain tried
to mediate but after more than two and a half hours of wrangling he
ordered the bulk of their royal party off the plane.
It is understood that five of the eight - including the princesses and
the men who left their seats to protest - were removed.
Police and diplomats from the Qatar consulate in Milan were also
called in before the plane eventually took off. The rest of the Qatar
party left Milan later on an Alitalia flight.
A BA spokesman said: "The people were offloaded because they failed to
comply with safety instructions when the aircraft was taxiing. Two
passengers stood up and refused to sit down."
A spokesman at the Qatar embassy in Rome said: "This was a private
matter and we have nothing to say."
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=A9 2007 Associated Newspapers Limited
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