This is the shocking moment a passenger is taken off a Ryanair plane after a fight on board. A man allegedly tried to open an emergency door during the flight from Bournemouth to Girona, Spain, on Thursday.
The jet was forced into an emergency landing in Toulouse, France. Video from the runway in the French city shows four police officers carrying a man, who appears limp and handcuffed. The officers then put the man, dressed in a white T-shirt and orange shorts, onto the ground as others watched over him. A spokesperson for Ryanair said the flight was diverted after a passenger “became disruptive” onboard.
While on the flight, a man allegedly burst out, “I want to go”, before making for one of the plane’s doors. Alarmed at what was unfolding, fellow passengers jumped up to stop him and a fight reportedly ensued.
The unidentified man is alleged to have spat and thrown punches at others before he was pinned to the floor, with a seatbelt bound round his legs to prevent him from moving. After being put back into a seat, he is alleged to have aimed a headbutt at a person in the next seat.
A witness claimed: “The whole event was very traumatic. The man had gone into the toilet and then afterwards was trying opening one of the emergency exit doors. He then went to try the other shouting ‘I want to go.’
“That’s when a huge brawl started with a lot more than one man trying to get him away from the doors.
“There was a big punch up and he then finally got taken down in the aisle and was pinned to the floor where they then managed to get a seatbelt extender round his ankles to stop him kicking.”
Another claimed: “They started brawling in the middle of the plane. It went on for about 30 minutes and one guy was completely off his head. It took about three people to restrain him.
“It was horrible, there was blood everywhere there were people screaming and crying. It was horrible, disgusting really.”
Another passenger claimed the man had tried to stand up to go to the toilet while the plane was taking off.
She said: “When asked to sit down he shouted ‘I need a p**s mate’ but then sat down. Once in the air he then stumbled to the front trying to open the doors in a panic.
“He was totally inebriated and wanted to get off the flight. Two men tried to calm and restrain him but he started spitting and swinging for everyone, crashing into people.
“One big guy warned him he was going to take him down if he carried on and he did so. He took him to the floor in a military style.”
Ryanair’s spokesperson said crew called ahead for police help and officers met the aircraft on landing at Toulouse Airport. They offloaded a passenger before the flight continued to Girona.
The spokesperson added: “Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour, ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a respectful and stress-free environment, without unnecessary disruption.”