British Airways ‘demanded £10,000 each from stranded Thomas Cook crew to take empty seats on flight’

BRITISH Airways have been accused of “charging Thomas Cook crew £10,000 for seats” after they were left stranded abroad.

Thousands of pilots and cabin crew were left abroad without any way of getting home after the holiday provider collapsed.

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A Facebook post explained how eight Thomas Cook staff members were kicked out of their hotel, before being told by BA they had to pay £10,000 for a business class ticket home.

They added that they were “not allowed to sit on jump seats as they were no longer crew”.

Katie McQuillan, one of the Thomas Cook crew affected, tweeted she was “still in Vegas”.

David Crichton, a former pilot for Thomas Cook, confirmed to the BBC: “We’ve got crew stranded all over the world.

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“I’ve been talking to people in Las Vegas who turned up at the airport to try and get home.

“One of well known carriers said ‘okay we’ve got four seats left’ and charged them £10,000 each to get home.

“Obviously we’re out of work now, we’re not getting paid this month.

“They didn’t have that money.”

David added that Virgin stepped in, working on finding them a hotel and flights.

However, social media users called it “disgusting” and “appalling.

One Twitter user said BA should be “ashamed” for claiming they were no longer cabin crew.

Others claimed they would no longer fly with the British airline.

A spokesperson for British Airways told The Independent: “We are investigating what happened on this occasion.

“We are working with the CAA with its process to ensure Thomas Cook staff  get home as quickly as possible at no cost to themselves.

“Our customer relations and airport teams across our global network are also ready to help any colleague who need a flight back to the UK.”

Thomas Cook customers were also faced with additional costs, with a Spanish hotel threatening to call the police unless tourists paid £1,100 bill.

A Thomas Cook pilot “broke down in tears” after addressing passengers during their final flight.

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Other airlines have stepped in to help some of the 21,000 crew without a job.

Virgin Atlantic and easyJet have offered crew a chance to apply for jobs, along with TUI.

Sun Online Travel has contacted BA for comment.