Boris Johnson's father Stanley criticises airport authorities for refusing to let him off hijacked plane as it landed at Heathrow – causing entire flight to be cancelled

Boris Johnson's father Stanley has blasted authorities for refusing to let him off a hijacked plane as it landed at Heathrow – causing the entire flight to be cancelled.

The 83-year-old writer was on board flight BA2641 from Malaga to London Gatwick on Friday when it was diverted to Heathrow due to a temporary runway closure.

The Airbus A321 was due to refuel before making the short flight to Gatwick when the runway reopened, but Mr Johnson and two other passengers wanted to get off.

This reportedly led to the plane missing its departure slot and being cancelled, with all passengers forced to disembark and take a connecting bus to Gatwick.

Mr Johnson has strongly defended his actions and insisted the pilot had invited passengers to disembark at Heathrow before “airport authorities” decided “this could not happen”.

He also insisted he was helping a woman who was “terrified” about getting back on a plane after losing her husband in a plane crash.

The Malaga flight was one of 16 that had to be diverted after another British Airways plane failed to take off from Gatwick, causing the runway to be closed for 50 minutes.

Passengers have been informed The Independent Mr Johnson – who splits his time between London and Somerset – was among three passengers who wanted to get off after the plane landed at Heathrow.

A woman called Annemarie said this led to an argument, with the former MEP and other passengers “becoming quite angry… hence the police intervention” before the flight was eventually cancelled.

But Mr Johnson has since written in an editorial to The Independent, defending himself against criticism and insisting he did the right thing.

He wrote: “On arrival at Heathrow, the captain informed us that after refuelling we would be making the 'short hop' back to Gatwick. He then invited passengers without hold baggage to disembark at Heathrow if they wished.”

“I grabbed my luggage from the overhead bin and headed to the front entrance of the plane. Two other passengers joined me and the three of us walked out the door to the top of the metal stairs that were already in place.

“All we had to do,” I thought, “was wait for ground transportation to arrive to take us to the terminal. That was the mistake.”

Mr Johnson said he and the two other passengers were not allowed to walk to the terminal because Gatwick was the flight's official destination.

He said he “suspected” he “would have let himself” be escorted back on the plane, but felt sorry for a woman who said she had recently lost her husband in a plane crash and refused to get back on the plane.

The former prime minister's father added that he did not understand why the police had to be called.

Authorities eventually decided to re-define the flight “as a Malaga-Heathrow flight”, he said, which “effectively meant” that the original flight to Gatwick was cancelled.

Mr Johnson said he was “sincerely sorry for the inconvenience caused to other passengers” but insisted he was glad he had “held on” and said he had been thanked by “the poor woman whose husband had just died in a plane crash”.

Friday's incident at Gatwick caused widespread chaos after all flights had to be temporarily suspended.

Flight BA2279 was due to take off for Vancouver before being forced to make a “high-speed emergency stop”, leaving the Boeing 777 blocking the runway.

Video footage taken by passengers on board the flight showed fire trucks heading towards the stationary plane, with passengers being told that the takeoff had been “aborted”.

The airport's runway was closed following an “aborted takeoff,” according to flight tracking site Flightradar24. The site reported the closure at 12:53 p.m. and reopening at 1:14 p.m.

A British Airways spokesperson said at the time: “Our pilots took the pre-emptive decision to cancel the flight due to a technical issue. Safety is always our top priority and we apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused.”

It marked another setback this week for families trying to get away for the summer, with families flying from Birmingham Airport facing long queues due to delays at a new 60m security hall.

British Airways and Heathrow have been contacted for comment regarding the incident involving Stanley Johnson.