No compensation for British Airways passengers on diverted 'Stanley Johnson flight'
Around 200 passengers who were left stuck at Heathrow airport after Boris Johnson’s father and two others got off a British Airways flight that was bound for Gatwick will not receive any compensation for the inconvenience.
Stanley Johnson was one of three passengers who got off a flight intended for Gatwick after it was forced to divert to Heathrow Airport on June 28.
Mr Johnson described how the flight home from Malaga had been “going swimmingly” before passengers learned that a plane was stuck on the runway at Gatwick and they had to make a stop off at Heathrow.
Passengers were at first given the option to get off the flight and Mr Johnson left the plane with two other passengers.
He later explained that he refused to get back on the flight as one of his fellow passengers was petrified to fly again, having recently lost her partner in an air traffic accident.
The flight to Gatwick ultimately ended up being cancelled leading all passengers to disembark at Heathrow.
Now, passengers have described how the incident left them with a “bitter taste,” made worse by a lack of compensation.
Passenger Richard Davenport said: “The plan was to refuel, and the aircraft was given a slot to fly to Gatwick.
“However, as Stanley Johnson decided he wanted to get off – along with another passenger – we subsequently missed the slot.”
He added: “With a car parked at Gatwick, we didn’t have to option to just leave at Heathrow. It left 99.5 per cent of passengers with a bitter taste.”
BA appears to be relying on a clause in the European Union guidance on compensation which treats all airports severing one city as equivalent.
A second passenger, known as Annemarie, told the Independent: “It appears they seem to think that getting us to London was sufficient, despite the inconvenience caused by our daughter going to Gatwick to collect us only for us to be offloaded at Heathrow.”
Recalling the incident in an opinion piece for the Independent, Mr Johnson previously wrote: “As we landed at Heathrow, the captain informed us that after we had taken on some fuel, we would make the ‘short hop’ back to Gatwick.
“He went on to invite any passengers without luggage in the hold to disembark at Heathrow if they wanted to. That sounded like a very good idea to me.”
Mr Johnson explained that he stepped out of the plane with two other passengers but that later turned out to be a mistake.
Since one of Mr Johnson’s companions was “verging on the hysterical” he explained he refused to get back on the flight.
The writer, 83, said that a woman who stood beside him was petrified to return to the plane.
She told staff: “I’ve just lost my husband in an air accident. It was all I could do this morning to bring myself to get on board the plane in Malaga.”
Mr Johnson criticised airport staff for going for the “nuclear option” - cancelling the flight to Gatwick and ending the journey at Heathrow.
British Airways has been contacted for comment.