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Mid-air brawl forces UK flight to Spain to divert
The Ryanair flight to the Canary Islands had to land in Portugal
A bloody brawl erupted mid-air between several British passengers aboard a Ryanair flight from the UK to Spain over the weekend which forced the pilot to request an emergency landing to get the disruptive travellers off the plane as quickly as possible.
According to other passengers, at least seven people were involved in the in-flight fight, which left London Luton airport at 8am on January 19 and was due to touch down in Lanzarote at 12.15pm.
Instead, the Ryanair crew had to divert to Faro in Portugal, where the plane was met by police when it hit the tarmac at 10.50am. The airline has yet to comment on the incident by the Portuguese authorities confirmed that they arrested one passenger involved in the fray.
One disgruntled Ryanair customer explained that the group of Britons appeared to be drunk and began harassing female passengers sitting nearby.
“They were swearing and being rude, rude to other passengers,” he said.
According to this fellow traveller, the situation escalated when a flight attendant tried to intervene, and he was knocked to the floor of the cabin.
The captain of the plane issued a stern warning over the intercom but the rowdy passengers allegedly paid no attention, and the disruptive behaviour carried on until the plane touched down in Portugal.
One of the passengers reportedly ran back onto the plane after landing and the police had to board the aircraft and forcibly remove the brawler and arrest him.
Portuguese Police Sources (PSP) offered more details: “Once inside the aircraft, the PSP, in contact with the crew members, discovered that the passengers were causing problems by shouting and repeatedly banging on the overhead luggage holds as well as drinking alcohol and ignoring the instructions given by the flight crew.
“However, one of the unruly passengers adopted hostile and aggressive behaviour, refusing to leave and repeatedly disobeying orders given to him.
“As a result the police were forced to arrest him and remove him from the aircraft using physical force given the constant resistance offered.”
Image: Archive
staff.inc.and
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