Police make two arrests after airport security guard ‘punched’

TWO people have been arrested after a Bristol Airport passenger allegedly punched a security guard.

A man and a woman were waiting to get on board an easyJet flight to Alicante last Friday when they were stopped from boarding the plane because they were “intoxicated”, police have said.

The man reportedly began shouting at staff at the gate when airport security and other passengers came over to de-escalate the situation. But the man then allegedly punched one of the security guards in the face.

Steve Rich, who witnessed the altercation, told our sister website Bristol Live: “All of a sudden the passenger just threw a fist over one of the guy’s shoulders and just caught the security guard on the mouth.”

The 33-year-old, from Wiltshire, said it was “unnecessary” and caused some distress among people who saw it. “The two girls who were working the (gate) were in floods of tears because it’s scary for them,” he added.

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police confirmed the arrests. They said: “At around 9.30pm on Friday (17 June), officers based at Bristol Airport responded to a report that members of security staff had been assaulted after two people were stopped from boarding a flight, due to being intoxicated. A 39-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of assault. They were both interviewed and given conditional cautions.”

A spokesperson for Bristol Airport said: “Antisocial, violent or threatening behaviour will not be accepted by Bristol Airport or airlines. Whilst such incidents are rare, we take them very seriously and will fully support any police investigation.”