A petite passenger was ordered off a busy plane so that an obese teenager could have two seats.
The 8st woman was left 'stunned' when cabin crew staff told her to leave the last available seat on a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Sacramento, in the U.S.
The seat was then given to an overweight 14-year-old girl who was travelling alone.
The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, spoke to the Sacramento Bee newspaper about the incident. She had paid full price for her seat, and says she was berated by staff when asked why she had been kicked off the flight.
She went on to say, 'It didn't seem right that I should have to leave to accommodate someone who had only paid for one seat.'
A spokesman for Southwest Airlines admits it should have handled the 'awkward' situation more carefully. They will be issuing an apology to the woman immediately. Usually, the company's policy is to ask passengers to volunteer to give up their seat.
However, the spokesman said: 'Normally, if the passenger were an adult, she would be required to purchase an extra ticket but we did not want to leave the 14-year-old stranded.'