Heathrow flight diverted: Mystery deepens as passengers question Stanley Johnson’s claims

Passengers who were diverted to Heathrow Airport on a British Airways flight from Malaga last Friday have disputed Stanley Johnson’s version of events.

They were on board BA2641 from Malaga on Friday 28 June. The Airbus A321 was due to fly to Gatwick. But as the plane approached Sussex Airport, the runway was closed because a separate British Airways flight refused to take off.

During the 50-minute closure at the Sussex airport, 16 flights were diverted – including a flight from Malaga that landed at Heathrow.

The pilots intended to refuel as soon as possible and depart for Gatwick.

Writing for The IndependentJohnson said that as the plane was landing, the captain asked “all passengers without luggage in the hold to get off at Heathrow if they wanted”.

He continued: “That sounded like a very good idea to me.

“I grabbed my bags from the rack and went to the front entrance of the plane. I was joined by two other passengers and the three of us walked out the door to the top of the metal steps that were already in place.”

However, other passengers disputed the account given by Mr Johnson – particularly the point where the captain said anyone who wished could get off.

One of them, named Annemarie, said The Independent: “I can categorically confirm that the pilot did not announce that passengers with carry-on bags could disembark after landing at LHR [Heathrow].

“That announcement was made later when several passengers insisted on coming out.

Her account was backed up by another passenger, Richard Davenport. He said The Independent: “On arrival at Heathrow we were told the aircraft would park and next steps would be confirmed.

“The pilot then announced that the aircraft would be refueled and a slot for Gatwick would be requested.

“The pilot later confirmed that a 20-minute slot had been provided and fuel had arrived.

“At this point, Mr. Johnson took his bag and, with the passenger in tow, walked to the front of the plane and asked to get off.”

Mr Davenport said that after another 15 or 20 minutes, “the pilot announced that he could not prevent the passengers from departing if they refused to fly”.

The other passengers decided to leave. Meanwhile, the airport police were called.

Afterwards, Mr Davenport said: “The pilot advised that we had missed a slot and now there were problems due to passengers wanting to get off the plane with luggage in the hold.

“Half an hour later the pilot said that due to safety regulations all luggage had to be removed and at this point BA decided to cancel the flight.”

“All the passengers got off and 95 per cent of us had to collect our bags and catch the bus back to Gatwick.

The aircraft, which was based at Gatwick, subsequently made a 19-minute crew-only flight, but the planned next sector to Cyprus and the corresponding return flight were cancelled.

Mr Davenport concluded: “It was Johnson’s action that caused the pilot to deviate from his plan to refuel and fly to Gatwick and the subsequent handling delay caused the flight to be cancelled.

Mystery surrounds the passenger who joined Mr Johnson in trying to leave the flight at Heathrow.

He described her as “hysterical” and told her: “I absolutely cannot get back on the plane.

“I just lost my husband in a plane crash. It was the only thing I could do this morning to get on the plane in Malaga. I just can’t imagine going back in it now, for another takeoff and another landing. No I will not. I’m definitely not going to.”

Mr Davenport disputed the report, saying: “She enjoyed the flight from Malaga to London without any problems so I’m not sure where the sudden fear of running away came from.

“However, I admit I didn’t speak to her – I just sat opposite for the three hour flight where she was happily watching a movie on her phone.”

The circumstances under which the passenger unfortunately lost her husband are also unclear.

British Airways could face compensation claims of more than £200,000 if it is found responsible for the flight terminating at Heathrow instead of Gatwick and the cancellation of Cyprus flights.

Under air passenger rights rules, if an airline is responsible for a delay of three hours or more in arrival or flight cancellation, compensation is payable – for journeys of up to £350 per passenger.

Assuming an average payload of 200 passengers, if everyone on board the three affected flights successfully claimed, the bill for BA would be £210,000.

The Independent repeated her request for a response from British Airways. So far, the airline has said of the incident: “Due to an earlier disruption at Gatwick, the flight was diverted to Heathrow where it was terminated.

Mr Johnson has been contacted for comment.