A seemingly drunk passenger on an EasyJet flight from Manchester to Iceland turned the experience into a nightmare for everyone on board, from the pilots to the cabin crew and the other passengers, whom he “terrorized.”
The man was eventually arrested when the plane made an emergency landing in Edinburgh, as the pilots deemed the situation too risky to continue the journey to Iceland with him on board, passengers tell The Sun. However, he still had plenty of time to cause mayhem.
According to eyewitnesses, the man boarded the plane already drunk or high. Not long after take-off, he started strutting up and down the aisle smoking an electronic cigarette, which is banned on airplanes, just like real cigarettes. He also yelled at staff and threatened passengers and, at one point, ripped his iPhone in half, which caused the battery to light up.
No one could talk any sense into him and the more anyone tried, the more violent he got. By the time police got on board in Edinburgh, everyone in the cabin was “terrified,” the same eyewitnesses reveal. So they were happy when he was finally escorted off the plane.
“We can confirm that flight EZY1805 from Manchester to Keflavik was required to divert to Edinburgh and was met by police on arrival due to a passenger behaving disruptively. EasyJet's cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time,” the airline company says in a statement confirming the incident.
“Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behavior onboard. The safety and well-being of passengers and crew is always EasyJet's priority,” the statement adds.
EasyJet doesn’t offer more details about the man’s arrest or what kind of charges he’s facing.
According to eyewitnesses, the man boarded the plane already drunk or high. Not long after take-off, he started strutting up and down the aisle smoking an electronic cigarette, which is banned on airplanes, just like real cigarettes. He also yelled at staff and threatened passengers and, at one point, ripped his iPhone in half, which caused the battery to light up.
No one could talk any sense into him and the more anyone tried, the more violent he got. By the time police got on board in Edinburgh, everyone in the cabin was “terrified,” the same eyewitnesses reveal. So they were happy when he was finally escorted off the plane.
“We can confirm that flight EZY1805 from Manchester to Keflavik was required to divert to Edinburgh and was met by police on arrival due to a passenger behaving disruptively. EasyJet's cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time,” the airline company says in a statement confirming the incident.
“Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behavior onboard. The safety and well-being of passengers and crew is always EasyJet's priority,” the statement adds.
EasyJet doesn’t offer more details about the man’s arrest or what kind of charges he’s facing.
Emergency landing in Edinburgh on my flight from Manchester to Iceland for a suspicious passenger who snapped his iPhone in half and lit his battery upon leaving the flight @BBCBreaking @itvnews @BBCNews #emergencylanding #manchestericeland #Edinburghairport pic.twitter.com/QQet8RE6X4
— AGΔ (@XAGouthelis) January 28, 2019