Saturday 25 June 2022 03:33 PM Air Canada FINALLY admits British passengers were kicked off Heathrow flight by ... trends now
An airline which ejected at least 25 passengers from a Heathrow-bound plane without telling them why has admitted that some were 'mistakenly removed'.
Air Canada has confirmed that some passengers had done nothing wrong before its staff accompanied by armed police ordered them off the plane.
Officials have been contacting the innocent passengers to apologise for the blunder and are believed to be discussing possible compensation with them.
But the airline is continuing to claim that others were thrown off the flight for 'disruptive behaviour' which included a failure to wear masks under anti-Covid rules.
It refused to confirm how many were wrongly ordered off as the plane sat on the tarmac at Montreal airport late on Monday night before leaving for Heathrow.
MailOnline revealed on Wednesday how passengers sitting quietly in their seats were told they had to leave without being given any explanation.
Those affected included support staff from Formula One teams who were in Montreal for the Grand Prix as well as a retired British couple who had been on holiday.
Air Canada has confirmed that some passengers had done nothing wrong before its staff accompanied by armed police ordered them off the plane (Pictured: file photo of an Air Canada plane)
Officials have been contacting the innocent passengers to apologise for the blunder and are believed to be discussing possible compensation with them
But the airline is continuing to claim that others were thrown off the flight for 'disruptive behaviour' which included a failure to wear masks under anti-Covid rules
All the passengers insisted that they had done nothing wrong, and had been following rules by wearing masks.
Others on the plane also confirmed that they had not seen anyone breaking the rules or behaving in a rowdy or a drunken way.
Air Canada had initially claimed that 'a group of 25 customers' were removed 'due to disruptive behaviour' and that it was investigating allegations that other 'unrelated individuals' were also deplaned during the process.
But in a statement released to MailOnline, the airline confirmed that the issue centred around the wearing of masks, and that some of the passenger should not have been thrown off.
The statement said: 'Our general policy is to not discuss incidents of disruptive behavior onboard our aircraft, but we can confirm the deplaning of passengers from flight AC866 on June 20 was related to non-compliance with Canadian government mask regulations, Canadian Aviation Regulations, as well as directives of our crew.
'The actions taken were for the safety and benefit of the other 266 passengers on the flight.
'We regret that some customers who were not involved were unfortunately deplaned. We have since reached out those we have identified as mistakenly removed to apologize and address their concerns.'
A spokesperson for the Williams F1 team said: 'We confirm that four of our members of staff were removed from an Air Canada flight on Monday evening that was due to fly from Montreal to London, including a pregnant member of our workforce.
'A total of 28 people were removed from the flight, and we are currently awaiting an explanation from Air Canada as we do not believe that there was any justification for the removal of our employees.
'As Williams Racing, we ensured our staff had transport and accommodation while they waited to be rebooked onto another flight. We confirm they are all now safely back in the UK and we await a response from Air Canada.'
Retired surveyor Richard Brailey, 71, and his wife Patricia, 66, from Hertfordshire were left baffled after they were ordered off the flight on their way home from a four week camper van holiday around Canada.
Air Canada had initially claimed that 'a group of 25 customers' were removed 'due to disruptive behaviour' and that it was investigating allegations that other 'unrelated individuals' were also deplaned during the process
Jordan Conlan, 28, left, was one of the passengers abruptly ordered off the plane after sitting on the tarmac for over an hour
The couple's son Patrick Brailey confirmed to MailOnline today that Air Canada staff had been in touch with his parents to apologise. He added: 'Discussions regarding an explanation and compensation remain ongoing'.
Mr and Mrs Brailey were given no reason for their ejection at the time, but were later told by airline staff in the terminal that they may have been thrown off for being drunk or not wearing masks.
They were left mystified because they had not been drinking and had been wearing masks constantly in their seats as they waited for the plane to take off.
Mr Brailey insisted that he had not seen any other passengers misbehaving or failing to follow instructions from cabin staff on the plane.
He and his wife were forced to spend the night in the airport as they could not find a room in a hotel, and were eventually given Air Canada flights back to Heathrow via New York on Tuesday.
The couple from Hertfordshire were initially told that Air Canada was not responsible for them and that they could not get on another of the airline's flights for at least 24 hours.
Their other son spent £1,300 on booking an
