Campbell banned from British Airways

Supermodel Naomi Campbell has been banned from flying with British Airways after she was escorted off a flight last week and arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, media reports said on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old, released on bail pending an investigation into the incident, said she hoped the row with the airline could be resolved “amicably”.

BA said it had not made any announcement regarding Campbell. When asked about a report in the Mirror tabloid saying she had been banned, a spokesman said:

“We don’t comment in detail about matters relating to individual passengers.

“All incidents of abuse against passengers or staff are taken extremely seriously by BA and will not be tolerated. We deal with cases on an individual basis and will take whatever action we feel is necessary.”

Campbell’s spokeswoman in London added: “Naomi has been flying with British Airways for nearly 30 years and has been a good customer. She hopes this can be resolved amicably.”

British police are investigating the disturbance last Thursday at London Heathrow’s new Terminal 5.

Campbell was on a British Airways flight due to depart for Los Angeles when one of two bags she had checked in went missing, according to her spokeswoman.

BA has been beset by problems with the high-tech check-in and baggage handling systems at the new 4.3 billion pound ($8.6 billion) terminal. Hundreds of flights were cancelled and tens of thousands of bags have gone missing.

It is not the first time Campbell has been in trouble with the law.

She spent five days mopping floors as part of a community service sentence in New York last year after throwing a mobile phone at her housekeeper during an argument over a pair of jeans. She was also ordered to attend anger management classes.