Updated

Three Arab princesses and members of their entourage were kicked off a British Airways flight in Milan, Italy, Thursday after a dispute over seating arrangements caused a three-hour delay, the London Daily Mail reported.

The three women, members of the Qatar royal family, objected to being seated next to men who were not relatives—a conservative Muslim custom observed in Qatar and many Gulf states.

Click here to read the London Daily Mail story.

After two male members of the royal party complained about the seating arrangement, airline staff tried to accommodate the princesses. When the dispute dragged on without resolution, the princesses and the two men were escorted off the plain, the Daily Mail reported.

The princesses were returning to Qatar from a shopping spree in Milan. The plane was bound for London's Heathrow Airport.

Furious and frustrated passengers jeered and whistled as the royal party left the plane, the Daily Mail reported.