Boarding passes for the flight did not state a departure gate number however, leading to irritation among some passengers lining up at BA's customer service desk to inquire about the status of the flight.

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In the early 1990s, Sir Richard won damages and an apology from BA at the High Court for a "dirty tricks" campaign, in which BA allegedly poached passengers, staff and gave negative stories about the Virgin founder to the press.

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"A country that can understand and take part in the arguments that we're going to have about climate change in the coming years needs to be well-educated about science, " said Cairncross, speaking to reporters at the launch of the BA festival.

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One unflattering thing about BA is that it is loud, one of the noisiest cities on the planet, according to the World Health Organization.

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