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A RYANAIR flight to Ibiza had to be diverted after violence broke out when a drunken Brit downed neat vodka then assaulted cabin crew and other passengers.
The plane carrying holidaymakers from Manchester landed in Toulouse, where police hauled the sozzled traveller and his ex-girlfriend off the plane.
Ellie Winship
Ellie Winship
Ellie Winship
Ellie WinshipVideo of the attack showed the boozed-up travellers shouting and swearing at French cops, before assaulting a fellow holidaymaker as he was being escorted off the flight.
Passengers say trouble broke out after the man booked himself onto the plane after learning his ex-girlfriend and her brother were going to be on the same flight.
Ellie Winship, 18, was flying to Ibiza with her boyfriend for a week-long break when the drama occurred.
The apprentice engineer, of Peterlee, Co Durham, said: “The man who was kicked off the plane was the ex-boyfriend of the woman who was also kicked off.
“She was on the flight with her brother who had booked a trip away but the ex found out and booked onto the flight as well.
“Apparently they had a really toxic relationship.
“She was sat near a guy who was on a stag do and they were just chatting normally but her ex came over and got really jealous .
“He said to her ‘wait till you get off this plane’.
“They were both really drunk because she was swigging a bottle of Captain Jack’s rum and he was drinking duty free and smoking as well.”
Ellie added that cops only planned to remove the man originally but other passengers complained about the woman too and called for her to be taken off the plane.
Cops finally agreed when the woman attacked an innocent member of the stag do and started trying to punch him.
“She was completely out of control”, said Ellie. “She spat at my boyfriend who was doing nothing.”
The arrested man was later seen being pinned down on the tarmac by officers.
Another Brit on the flight, who asked to remain anonymous, said the couple were sat about 10 rows apart and the man spent the first hour of the flight “swigging duty free vodka” before he started arguing with a male cabin crew member and punched him in the face.
As cabin crew tried to restrain him, he assaulted another passenger and spat at a woman, telling her to “suck my ****.”
The witness said: “As soon as he got on the plane my friend noticed him and said ‘something’s not right with him’.
“About 30 minutes into the flight he started causing problems.
“He went to the toilet about four times and wouldn’t sit down.
“The cabin attendant kept telling him to sit down and warned him if he didn’t the flight would be diverted.
“His missus was crying and she was sat about ten rows away from him and he kept coming up and pointing at her and calling her a ‘slag’.
“She was asking the cabin crew to get him off the plane.
“The guy went for the flight attendant twice and he had to defend himself.
“He was still gobbing off when the police came on.
“His missus wasn’t going to be kicked off but then she went and chinned another male passenger.”
The altercation lasted for about 40 minutes until Flight FR2626, which left Manchester airport at 5.20pm on Sunday, landed and 12 French police officers took him away in custody.
In footage, the visibly intoxicated man who appears to be in his late 20s is led off as passengers cheer.
The Ryanair flight spent just over an hour and a half on the tarmac at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport before continuing its journey to Ibiza, landing at 1.30am Monday.
Last week Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary called for flyers to be limited to two drinks at airports to crackdown on a rise in disorder on flights.
He said: “We don’t want to begrudge people having a drink. But we don’t allow people to drink-drive, yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33,000ft.
“In the old days, people who drank too much would eventually fall over or fall asleep. But now those passengers are also on tablets and powder,” he added.
“It’s the mix. You get much more aggressive behaviour that becomes very difficult to manage.”
He added it was difficult for gate staff to identify drunk people before they boarded.
He said: “As long as they can stand up and shuffle they will get through.
“Then when the plane takes off, we see the misbehaviour.”
Ryanair staff had now started carrying out hand luggage checks to stop passengers on flights to destinations including Ibiza and the Greek islands from smuggling duty-free alcohol onboard.
He said: “We used to only allow them to take bottles of water on board, not realising that they were full of vodka.
“Now we don’t even allow them to take those. Ibiza is by far and away the worst destination for it.”
Passengers have now started boasting of how to smuggle alcohol onboard plans on social media by posting “life hack” videos showing themselves pouring glasses of wine they’d bought at airport bars into their water bottles, coffee cups and whatever other vessels they had on hand.
Others recorded themselves filling up water or soft drink bottles with booze they’d snagged in duty free, before heading through the gates onto their flights.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “This flight from Manchester to Ibiza diverted to Toulouse after a small group of passengers became disruptive inflight.
“The crew called ahead for police assistance, who met the aircraft upon landing at Toulouse and offloaded two passengers before this flight continued to Ibiza.
“We sincerely apologise to passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of these unruly passengers’ behaviour, which was beyond Ryanair’s control. This is now a matter for local police.”
Ellie Winship
Ellie Winship
Ellie Winship
English (US)