Aeroflot says the wife of Russian soccer star Andrei Arshavin was removed from an international flight due to what the airline said was her "obstructive behavior" and refusal to comply with the crew's requests.
In a January 8 statement, Aeroflot said that the captain decided to remove Alisa Arshavina, her children, and their nanny from Moscow-Almaty Flight SU1946 before takeoff on January 6.
Crew members said that Arshavina repeatedly described herself as a major in the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) "in an attempt to put pressure on the crew," according to the statement.
It accused Arshavina of "violating the conditions of travel" by demanding that the nanny, who had an economy class ticket, be seated in business class.
Arshavina also ignored the cabin crew's request to fasten her and her children's seatbelts, and started changing her child's diaper while the aircraft was 200 meters from the runway preparing to take off, Aeroflot said.
Andrei Arshavin, a former Russian national team captain who has spent most of his career at Zenit St. Petersburg and the English club Arsenal, now plays for Almaty-based Kazakhstan Premier League club FC Qairat, also known as FC Kairat.
