Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Naomi Campbell banned from British Airways after 'police assault'

Naomi Campbell banned from British Airways after 'police assault'

Naomi Campbell has been banned
from flying with British Airways following her violent outburst on a plane last week.

The troubled supermodel, 37, was arrested at Heathrow's Terminal 5 last Thursday after clashing with BA staff over a missing bag.

After rowing with cabin staff on the London-Los Angeles flight, she allegedly assaulted a police officer who came on board in an attempt to defuse the argument.
Following her bad behaviour, BA decided to ban the London-born model from all future flights.

Her spokeswoman said: "Naomi has been flying with BA for nearly 30 years and has been a good customer. She hopes this can be resolved amicably."

Upon realising one of her bags were missing, Campbell demanded the flight was delayed.
Naomi Campbell community service

Crime and punishment: Naomi Campbell serving her community service for 'reckless assault' in New York last year

The flight eventually took off two hours late after Campbell was forcibly removed from the plane in handcuffs.

After being questioned by police, Campbell was released on bail on Friday. She is yet to be formally charged for any offence.

The supermodel was pictured smiling as she left Heathrow police station and ironically wore a baseball cap bearing Nelson Mandela's prison number from his time in Robben Island - 46664.

Despite the BA ban, rival transatlantic airline Virgin said Campbell is welcome to fly with them - if she escapes charges over Thursday's incident.

A Virgin statement said: "Any decision regarding her future travel with us would depend on the outcome of any court proceedings."

Despite allegations Campbell was "abusive" to BA staff and spat at a police officer, the model maintains BA asked her to leave the plane after she realised her bags were missing.

Her spokesperson said: "Once on the plane, she was told one bag was missing.

"British Airways decided to resolve this by insisting she leave the flight and called the police, and forcibly ejected her.

"So far as we are aware BA have still failed to offer any explanation as why her bag went missing."

However, fellow first-class passenger John Miller, 42, said: "She was moaning but we were all in the same boat.

"Just because she's a celebrity, it doesn't mean her bags can't get lost too. She just made it worse for everyone else. As well as lost luggage, we had to endure almost a two-hour delay."

Campbell's fiery temper is well-documented - eight years ago she pleaded guilty to assaulting her former assistant Georgina Galanis with a telephone in Canada in 1998.

Last year, Campbell was ordered to perform five days community service and attend anger management classes after she was found guilty of reckless assault against her maid Ana Scolavino.

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