Over two hundred passengers on board an Air Zimbabwe flight spent five hours trapped on board on Monday after the plane was diverted to Madrid for the convenience of President Robert Mugabe.The Zimbabwean leader ordered the London-bound Boeing 767 to divert to the Spanish capital to allow him to join a flight for Havana, Cuba. When the aircraft landed, Spanish authorities would not allow passengers to leave even though several wanted to inquire about other connections to London. They were made to stay in their seats while temperatures soared. President Mugabe and his wife Grace were on their way to Cuba as guests of the country's leader Fidel Castro.A London businessman, Robert Massey, told the Daily Telegraph that passengers oney learned of the diversion when they checked in at Harare airport for the flight to London Gatwick. As the aircraft was preparing for take-off the captain welcomed Mr Mugabe and his wife on board over the cabin address system"We got to Madrid and there was a problem with the currency they were using to pay for fuel," Mr Massey told the newspaper. "We were stranded. It was like being held hostage ... and it was scorching hot."The plane eventually arrived at Gatwick over five and half hours late.It is not the first time Mugabe has diverted flights to suit his own schedule. Earlier this year a Gatwick flight was ordered to Libya so the Zimbabwe president could meet Colonel Gaddafi.On another occasion he diverted a London-bound flight to Rome where he was attending an international food conference. Leo/ORD Email me at KLM_India@yahoo.com or LFutia@aol.com. The choice is yours. Take your pick! I check both.