In October 2006 the retired NHL right wing, nicknamed the Russian Rocket, was scheduled to fly on BA875 flight from Moscow to London, when the pilot allegedly mistook Bure for a Russian soccer fan, and refused to take off until the hockey star had left the plane.
The Tverskoi Court in Moscow awarded Bure last August 57,000 rubles in compensation for financial damages and 10,000 rubles for moral damages.
The Moscow City Court turned down appeals from both sides in the case. British Airways insisted on closing the trial saying it should be held in Britain, while Bure and his lawyers said the size of the compensation was insufficient.
Bure initially filed a lawsuit with the Tverskoi Court in Moscow demanding that the airline pay him 20 million rubles ($771,000) in compensation for moral damages alone.
Dmitry Ragulin, a lawyer for Bure, earlier said: "the sum awarded for moral damages is ridiculous."
According to Ragulin his defendant lost his connecting flight from London to Los Angeles, U.S., and spent almost the entire day at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow waiting to board another plane. He said the sum of 20 million rubles could rise as his client suffered not only moral damages, but financial as well.
British Airways officially apologized to the Russian hockey star the day after Bure filed the lawsuit. The company said in a June 21 statement that it realized how unpleasant the incident was for Bure, adding that the star was removed from the plane for security reasons, following an incident the day before involving drunken Russian soccer fans.
On October 30, 2006 British police arrested six passengers for drunk and disorderly behavior after the BA875 flight from Moscow landed in London. Those detained were all Russian soccer fans traveling to London for an Arsenal-CSKA Moscow match. The fans reportedly smoked on board the plane, and behaved aggressively.
