Naomi Campbell has declared herself a champion of the dispossessed.

Having been arrested at Heathrow and apparently banned from all British Airways flights, the famously short-tempered supermodel revealed today that she will no longer use the airline because of its “complete disrespect for the passengers” of Terminal Five.

Ms Campbell also claimed that BA had changed its mind about banning her from its aircraft and was now desperate for her custom.

In an interview in a Brazilian newspaper today, she said that the airline had pleaded with her to use their planes again and that she was refusing to do so in a stand against the catastrophic failings of the £4.3 billion terminal.

Ms Campbell, 37, who is in Rio to publicise the fight against dengue fever, said: “Someone from BA called me and asked that I return to fly with them but this will not occur so early. They didn’t find my bag – said it wasn’t in the system – and there was a complete disrespect for the passengers.

“You Brazilians went through the same problem last year,” she added, referring to an air traffic controllers strike. “The case in Terminal 5 at Heathrow was the same thing and I am not speaking for myself. I am speaking for all those who have been disrespected.”

A spokesman for BA said today: “We have not confirmed or denied that any passenger has been banned,” but a BA insider told London’s Evening Standard paper: “We are not aware of any pleading phone calls to Ms Campbell.”

Ms Campbell, who was once accused of hitting her assistant in the face with a Blackberry phone, was placed in handcuffs by Heathrow police on 3 April after she allegedly spat at a police officer. She had been previously banned from a flight in September for arriving too late for her take-off, prompting her to fly into a rage.

After the incident, her spokeswoman tried to defuse the situation, saying: “Naomi has been flying for nearly 30 years and has been a good customer. She hopes this can be resolved amicably.”

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