Two passengers booted off British Airways flight after 'demanding business class upgrade'

Two passengers who demanded they be upgraded to business class on their British Airways flight from London to Jamaica ended up being kicked off the plane.

A furious row broke out when the pair reportedly insisted they be moved from economy class into the more luxurious and expensive area for free.

Cabin crew on board flight BA2263, that took off from Gatwick Airport, refused their request and the argument was filmed by the pair on a mobile phone.

The pilot decided to make an unscheduled stop at a Portuguese air base where the pair in questions were swiftly kicked off the plane.

One of the passengers has been named as 65-year-old Kwane Bantu.

He told MailOnline that he wanted to stretch his legs in the bigger seats as he suffers from cancer and diabetes.

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Mr Bantu claimed that he was “ambushed” by six members of staff who tied him up by his hands and feet before dragging him back to his seat in economy.

He said: “I was completely humiliated, my human rights had been taken away from me. I didn’t even have the energy to fight them because my blood pressure would have gone even higher.

“I don’t think I deserved that kind of behaviour. I can understand if they thought I was going to be violent but [the restraints] stopped my blood from circulating.”

The second passenger is said to be businesswoman Joy Stoney, who was apparently also thrown off for trying to help Mr Bantu.

British Airways told the paper that Mr Bantu refused to move from business class and verbally abused crew, so they “helped him walk back to his original seat”.

A statement added: “The pilot decided to land in Lajes in the island of Terceira because of a dispute between cabin crew and a couple who wanted to be transferred from economy class.”

The flight took off from Gatwick at 11.36am on Wednesday before it diverted from its flight path at around 3pm.

The plane then left Terceira at around 7.15pm before it returned to London at 10.36pm.

British Airways was last week criticised by the new President of Ghana for the “shoddy” way it treats customers.

Top pic: Rex