'Petite' woman thrown off plane to make way for obese teenager who needed two seats

A svelte passenger was ordered off a full plane so that an obese teenager could have two seats.

The woman, who weighs 8st, said she was ‘stunned’ when told to leave the last available seat on a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Sacramento, in the U.S.

Her vacated seat was then given to an overweight 14-year-old girl who was travelling alone.

'Awkward' situation: The airline ordered a slim passenger off a plane so that an overweight teen could have two seats

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, told the Sacramento Bee newspaper she had paid full price for the fare – and was berated by staff when asked why she had been kicked off the flight.

‘It didn’t seem right that I should have to leave to accommodate someone who had only paid for one seat,’ she said.

A Southwest Airlines spokesman said it should have handled the ‘awkward’ situation more carefully, adding that the woman would receive an apology.

Filmmaker Kevin Smith was thrown off a Southwest flight for taking up too much room earlier this year

The company’s usual policy is to ask passengers to volunteer to give up their seat, but the girl was too embarrassed.

‘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,’ the spokesman added.

In an ironic twist, Southwest Airlines came under fire earlier this year after removing film director Kevin Smith from a flight for being 'too fat'.