Boris Johnson’s father has insisted “I’m glad I stood my ground” after admitting to causing a British Airways flight to be cancelled.
Stanley Johnson, 83, was accused of causing a diverted commercial flight from Malaga to London Gatwick to be cancelled after he attempted to disembark the aircraft at Heathrow where the plane was forced to land due to a runway closure at its planned destination.
Mr Johnson was aboard BA2641 on June 28 when his plane and 15 others were diverted following a temporary closure of Gatwick’s runway. The Airbus A321 was due to refuel at Heathrow before a short flight to Gatwick.
But Mr Johnson and two other passengers wanted to leave the aircraft, causing the plane to miss its departure slot to complete the final leg of the journey. All those onboard subsequently had to disembark and get a connecting bus to Gatwick.
The former prime minister’s father has defied criticism and insisted he was in the right.
Writing in The Independent he said: “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.
“I grabbed my bags from the rack and went to the forward entrance of the plane. Two other passengers joined me and the three of us stepped out of the door onto the top of the metal stairs which were already in place.
“All we had to do, I imagined, was to wait for the ground transport to arrive to take us into the terminal building. That was the mistake.”
Not allowed to disembark
Despite being invited to leave and no longer being physically onboard the plane, however, they were not allowed to disembark. He was told this was because Gatwick was the flight’s official destination.
Mr Johnson said he would have likely allowed himself to be shepherded back onto the plane, but he took pity on one nervous flyer who insisted she couldn’t return to her seat.
He said: “One of my two companions was a woman who was, quite frankly, verging on the hysterical. ‘I absolutely can’t go back into the plane,’ she cried. ‘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. I simply can’t imagine going back on it now.’”
He said, rather than allowing him to leave the plane, authorities decided to redefine the flight so that Heathrow was its final destination, effectively cancelling the scheduled flight to Gatwick, resulting in all passengers having to leave the plane at the wrong airport.
Mr Johnson wrote: “I am sorry, truly sorry, for the inconvenience caused to other passengers, some of whom no doubt had cars or loved ones waiting for them at Gatwick, and who found themselves disembarking willy-nilly at Heathrow instead.
“I am as ready as the next man to shoulder my share of the blame when things go wrong. For example, if I try my hand at making scrambled eggs for breakfast and they end up sticking inextricably to the saucepan, I own up on the spot.
“But on this particular occasion, I’m glad I stood my ground. And there was one passenger, at least – that poor woman whose husband had just died in an air crash – who thanked me for it.”
British Airways and Heathrow have been contacted for comment.
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