Milan, Italy (AHN) -- A member of Qatar's royal family delayed a British Airways Milan-London flight Thursday because he refused to allow the airline to seat his three female relatives next to men they did not know.

Italian newspapers reported Friday that the Sheikh, identified as Bader Bin Khalifa al-Thani, was eventually asked to leave the plane after he approached the captain to look into the seating matter prior to the plane's take off.

Plane authorities also called up a representative of the Qatar ambassador to try and resolve the matter but the royal did not budge. The incident infuriated nearly 117 other passengers on board, with about 50 of them being forced to miss their connecting flights in London.

A strict interpretation of Islam has many restrictions on women, one of which includes banning talking to strangers.

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