A GRANDMOTHER was booted off a flight by airline staff after she requested a sick bag before take-off because she was feeling dizzy.

Anna Stratakos, 72, was travelling from Greece to Canada when she was asked to leave the Air Transat plane at Athens airport.

The pensioner requested a barf bag as a precaution because she was feeling light-headed when she boarded the flight to Toronto on July 12.

But Anna says over-zealous cabin crew assumed she was ill resulting in her being stranded in the Athens and having to fork out £620 ($800) for a new ticket.

The 72-year-old, who was visiting family in Greece, blamed a long taxi journey to the airport on her feeling slightly nauseous.

She told CBS: “You don't know what happened to me that day, what I've been through.”

When staff told her she had to leave the aircraft, Anna said: "I'm not vomiting, nothing. I said, 'No no, I'm not sick.'"

Air Transat said the pensioner felt unwell and "exhibited symptoms of dizziness and nausea."

The captain contacted Medilink - a service which provides airlines with medical assessments on passengers by telephone.

An airline spokesperson said: “Medlink assessed that Mrs. Stratakos was unable to safely complete the flight and advised us that it was best to disembark her.”

Anna was escorted off the plane by airport security when she refused to leave the aircraft.

She was given no medical follow-up despite the airline claiming they refer customers who have been removed for health reasons to a 24-hour hotline to help them make new travel plans.

The grandmother was instead directed to the Air Transat desk at the airport where she was told she would have to spend $800 on a new ticket for a flight taking off four days later.

After being contacted by CBS last week, the airline finally offered an apology to Anna and her family - around five months after the incident.

The company said that "given the inconveniences suffered by Mrs. Stratakos and any ensuing miscommunication that could have occurred," it will refund her return flight.

Anna’s son George Stratakos, who originally lodged a complaint with the airline, said: "I believe that Air Transat's employees overreacted, and made overreaching decisions.”

Describing the impact on his mother, George said: "I can't imagine just being thrown off a plane.

"When we got home, she burst into tears. I mean, she was literally crying about the situation. She was embarrassed."

In the last eight months, another four passengers have been removed from three different airlines for medical reasons which they claim are unfounded, CBS has found.

In February, Beth Evans, 24, and her boyfriend were ordered to leave an Emirates flight to Dubai before take-off because she complained of period pains.

The couple said a stewardess overheard teaching assistant Beth complain that she had stomach pains caused by a painful period.

Beth described the pain as “one out of ten” when sitting down, and was happy to make the seven-hour flight from Birmingham airport.

But without a doctor on the scene, Emirates crew decided the couple must unfasten their seatbealts and get off the A380 jet.

Furious Beth and Joshua had to spend £250 each to rebook their holiday flights.

In April, a UK pensioner suffering from cancer claimed his hands and feet were tied by six British Airways crew who "treated him like a slave" after he fell ill in mid-air and tried to sit in first class.

Photos showed Kwame Bantu, 65, apparently handcuffed to the seat with his legs bound together — as it was claimed the crew banned him from using the toilet and ordered him to POO in his seat.

Mr Bantu was heading to see family in Jamaica when he says he began to feel dizzy and saw his leg swelling an hour after taking off from Gatwick.