Pay least, board last: British Airways' new policy for boarding planes

British Airways announced that it would be imposing a “pay least, board last” policy.

The airline announced that travellers with the cheapest tickets will be held back at the departures gate until others who paid more board the plane.

Economy passengers travelling with hand luggage only will be given low priority seats as opposed to Gold members of the British Airways Executive Club, Club Europe and first class passengers who will be prioritised under the new system.

The announcement came in the British Airways internal newsletter that was first published in The Independent.

It read: “Group boarding simplifies the process, making it easier for customers to understand the boarding sequence at the gate.”

The new policy sparked outrage on Twitter.

One user who goes by the name of Banjobob wrote: “Nothing quite like a British class system to let you know your place!”