Dozing BA crew delays Spain-bound passengers

Early bird passengers were told by BA they had had to wait an extra three hours in the departure lounge because the company had ordered the flight crew to sleep on for a while after they were kept awake at their hotel by a wedding party.

The infuriated tourists turned to Twitter and Facebook to voice their discontent, independent news agency SWNS reported on Monday.

"Sitting in Aberdeen when I should be flying to Barcelona due to a resting crew. #sloppylogistics #couldbeavoided.," tweeted passenger  Andrew Wyness.

"We were told by a member of British Airways staff that the crew had been disturbed by a noisy wedding party below the accommodation at their hotel," another passenger added.

"BA haven’t offered us any compensation, but I’ll certainly be looking into it."

"Our crew and cabin crew are required by law to have certain rest periods between operating flights and if that is disrupted then we have to make appropriate measures," a BA spokesperson said.

"We apologize to our customers for the delay, but the flight had to be delayed for operational reasons. These decisions are based on safety and security which are two principles we will never compromise.”