After British Airways sold more tickets than there were seats available on a plane to France, the airline chose to offload a couple in their eighties to solve the problem. The decision to turn away the pair, both aged 82, was not made at some distant airport with little BA representation; it was taken at the airline’s main base, London Heathrow.
The couple have asked to remain anonymous. Their dismal journey began at lunchtime on Friday 27 September. They were booked on British Airways flight BA368 from Heathrow to Marseille, due to depart from Terminal 3 at 3.10pm. One of them has a pacemaker “and stress has to be avoided at all costs”. The other said: “I am a little unsteady on my feet and I also have medical problems exacerbated by stress.”
Denne historien er fra October 17, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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Denne historien er fra October 17, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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South Africa find a spring in their step to dominate game
A captivating year saw lots of storylines including a thrilling sevens tournaments at the Paris Olympics, Antoine Dupont magic and a Springboks double, writes Harry Latham-Coyle
Lords of the ring walk
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk created history this year
Basque in the glow: Iraola the best-kept secret lifting Cherries to new heights.
A 42-year-old Spanish head coach from the Basque region making waves and earning admirers in the Premier League isn’t a unique position.
Even cold hard cash isn't enough for this spent force
Pep Guardiola has witnessed his empire start to fall as ‘forever football’ takes its toll, writes Miguel Delaney
The babies from the Boxing Day tsunami - 20 years on
The 2004 disaster left thousands without parents. Former travel agent Lynn Stanier explains how after volunteering she vowed to never stop helping the kids she met in Sri Lanka
Hundreds of Humvees left by US forces in Afghanistan
American and Nato troops abandoned military equipment worth more than $7.2bn, much of which is now in a state of disrepair in the Taliban’s hands, as Arpan Rai reports
The family who see saving Gaza's animals as 'our duty'
A heroic family-run animal sanctuary has defied the odds by working around the clock” to save hundreds of animals suffering in Gaza during a year of intense Israeli bombardment.
Nearly 40 dead as plane crashes in Kazakhstan
Children among 29 survivors of Russian-bound flight
Man arrested for attempted murder after four hit by car
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after four pedestrians were hit by a car in London’s West End in the early hours of Christmas Day.
Britain's lost Atlantis: Stone Age artefacts on the seabed
Discovery reveals more on prehistoric land under North Sea
