15 Nov, 2017 @ 15:19
1 min read

Story of Vueling passengers kicked off flight ‘for speaking Catalan’ branded ‘fake news’ by fellow passengers

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THE recent story of two Vueling passengers who were kicked off the flight ‘for speaking Catalan’ has been branded as ‘fake news’ by fellow passengers.

The story, reported across the UK and Spanish nationals, claimed the two women were asked to leave the flight from Menorca to Barcelona after they refused to speak Spanish to a flight attendant.

According to 72-year-old Margarita Camps Ca, she had to put something she had put at her legs in the overhead locker because she was seated at the emergency exit.

She did not want to do that and expressed as much in Catalan to which the flight attendant said she had to speak in Spanish.

Another woman defended the 72-year-old passenger and the pilot asked to have a word with the ladies outside of the aircraft, before they were refused back onboard.

However other passengers say that is not the whole story and that it has been twisted by media reports.

In a series of tweets, passengers claimed the two women made a ‘dramatic show’ and verbally attacked the flight attendant, who had to call for assistance from fellow cabin crew.

 

They were allegedly so aggressive that the pilot urged the women to leave the plane for disorder after which they were escorted by the Guardia Civil.

The women refused flat out to speak Spanish, which was a problem because they were seated at the emergency exit.

According to the rules of Iberia, the parent company of Vueling, the safety information for those chairs should be given only in Spanish and English, according to the newspaper Vozpopuli.

When the women were asked to leave the plane, one of them allegedly began to yell hysterically that they were in Catalunya and the whole event was ‘ridiculous’.

After the incident, the pilot spoke to the other passengers to explain to them what had happened on which the whole aircraft spontaneously applauded, passengers claim.

 

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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