Naomi: I'm a martyr fighting for rights of T5 passengers
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has declared herself a Terminal Five martyr fighting for the rights of all passengers caught up in the Heathrow baggage debacle.
Campbell was arrested at Heathrow and banned from all British Airways flights after a blazing row over her missing luggage.
She has now hit back at the airline, claiming that, far from being banned, BA is desperate for her custom.
In an interview in a Brazilian newspaper today, she alleged that BA had pleaded with her to use their planes again and that she was refusing to do so in a stand against the catastrophic failings of the £4.3 billion Terminal Five.
Campbell, 37, who flew to Rio from London on the Brazilian national carrier TAM, was reported as saying: "Someone from BA called me and asked that I return to fly with them but this will not occur so early. They didn't find my bag - said it wasn't in the system - and there was a complete disrespect for the passengers.
"You Brazilians went through the same problem last year [after an air traffic controllers' strike]. The case in Terminal 5 at Heathrow was the same thing and I am not speaking for myself. I am speaking for all those who have been disrespected."
A spokesman for BA said today: "We have not confirmed or denied that any passenger has been banned," but a BA insider told the Evening Standard: "We are not aware of any pleading phone calls to Ms Campbell."
Campbell was arrested and handcuffed on 3 April and escorted off a BA flight to Los Angeles after she allegedly spat at a police officer.
It was not the first time she has been involved in a disturbance at Heathrow, having been banned from a flight in September for arriving too late for take-off, prompting her to fly into a rage.
After the incident two weeks ago, BA banned her until further notice while her spokeswoman pleaded for clemency, declaring: "Naomi has been flying for nearly 30 years and has been a good customer. She hopes this can be resolved amicably."
Campbell, a regular visitor to Rio, is there to help fight an epidemic of dengue fever. She offered to give blood but was rejected because she underwent a cyst removal operation recently.
