Passengers on a fog-delayed flight into Gatwick were told of a further hold-up to their journey because of a ‘faulty curtain’ separating business and economy cabins.

The British Airways flight had been due to leave Seville at 11.30am local time on Monday, but took off almost three hours later, at 2.45pm.

Passengers had already been delayed because of foggy weather – but were then informed they’d been held up further because of safety concerns over a dividing curtain, the Evening Standard reported.

The Standard said travellers were told by staff at the boarding gate, and later by cabin crew on board the plane that a faulty curtain was causing the delay.

The fault left part of the rail structure loose and could have posed a hazard had the plane taken off before it was secured, the newspaper added.

One person on the aircraft told the Standard angry passengers suggested ‘cutting off the curtain’, adding: “I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous before as an excuse for a delay.”

The Standard said: “BA stressed the majority of the delay was due to foggy conditions which meant the plane could not land in Seville until around 12.30pm local time – more than an hour after it was due to leave – while the issue with the curtain was safety-related.”

A BA spokesperson apologised for the delay, telling Mail Online the initial problem had been due to fog, but added: “A separate technical defect was identified which needed rectifying before the aircraft was safe to depart.”