Plane forced to divert after passenger’s drunken threats
Video reveals how man had to be restrained by cabin crew before being hauled off in handcuffs
ASHOCKING video shows a ‘drunken abusive’ passenger who threatened to start a ‘mid-air brawl’ being hauled off a flight from Manchester in handcuffs.
Holidaymakers bound for Greece were diverted to Bulgaria following the ‘disgusting’ behaviour of drunk passengers on Friday night.
Onlookers say a group of young people started a row after downing booze they had managed to sneak onto the flight to Heraklion in soft drink bottles.
Passengers claim one man became so aggressive he threatened to cause a mass brawl. They also claimed he lit a cigarette in the toilet while another girl allegedly had her face slapped amid the mayhem.
The Thomson Holidays flight TOM 2570 left Manchester at 7pm on Friday night.
The airline said the pilot first radioed police to meet the plane at its destination, but was forced to divert the flight as the man’s behaviour deteriorated.
The video footage, posted on YouTube, shows passengers applauding as a man is taken from the plane by police in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
The passenger who filmed the incident told Mirror Online: “The scene became laddish to scary and abusive in a very short time, culminating when an air hostess screeched in shock as they tried to restrain the drunken abusive man.”
The 180 passengers on board were delayed for two hours following the incident. It is believed the man at first refused to leave the plane.
One passenger said: “There was one bloke who just got completely out of hand. He was just drunk and abusive and shouting at everyone.
“The behaviour was disgusting. There was shouting and swearing to start with but it then got worse and became very scary.
“All the passengers as well as the cabin crew were telling them to calm down but they just wouldn’t listen.
“When the bloke started threatening to start a brawl the captain said he was diverting the plane.”
Thomson Airways said it operates a zero tolerance policy to disruptive behaviour and apologised to passengers for the inconvenience caused.
A Thomson spokeswoman said the passenger was removed from the aircraft and met by police.
She said: “Customer safety is our priority at all times and we would like to reassure passengers that incidents of this nature are extremely rare.”