The Only Way is Essex star Pia Smith has told her fans that “half the show’s cast” were kicked off a flight from Madrid to London for refusing to wear Covid masks.
The cast members of the ITVBe show had been filming for the new series in the Dominican Republic and were flying back to the UK via Spain.
Smith said in a video on her Instagram Story: “24 hours later, we’re still travelling. We got chucked off the flight because we didn’t wear masks, it was like half the cast that got chucked off.”
She added: “We’ve had to sit here in Madrid airport for 10 hours. I’m not going to get back to the UK until 11:30pm, I won’t be back in my bed until 1am. This is nuts.”
Civil Guard officers confirmed to the Mail that they were asked to intervene by an Air Europa pilot after the four men and five women were “causing a public order disturbance”.
Masks are mandatory on the airline for customers over the age of six.
After being confronted by police, the stars were then stopped from boarding their flight to London.
An Air Europa spokeswoman added: “There was an incident on the flight. Following protocol, several passengers were asked to leave the plane for refusing to wear the mandatory masks and one of them for smoking inside the aircraft.
“While leaving the plane, they were accompanied by other passengers without further incident.”
The Independent has contacted Towie representatives for comment.
