Passengers leave jet after sit-in

28 October 2011 Last updated at 18:12 ET

Some 100 passengers have left a plane at Birmingham Airport after refusing to get off for several hours.

The Viking Hellas flight was originally scheduled to leave from Manchester for Athens at 13:00 BST, but passengers were then taken by bus to Birmingham.

They boarded a plane due to leave at 17:00, but were then told to get off, which they refused to do.

At about 01:30 BST they finally agreed to leave and left the airport by bus to return to Manchester.

Earlier a passenger, speaking from the aircraft, said police were on board.

The woman, who used the name Dorota, said the flight had been chartered and they were originally due to fly on Friday, 21 October.

She said: “People are hungry. They have not eaten since this morning.

“The air conditioning has been switched off and it is getting hot. The airline will not give us food, only water.”

Many of the passengers are due to fly on to Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan.

No-one has been available for comment from Viking Hellas.

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