An easyJet flight returning to London Gatwick from Gran Canaria had to abort the journey following an on-board brawl. An argument reportedly broke out between passengers which escalated into a fight. The plane, which had set off from Gran Canaria Airport, was forced to turn around and return to the Spain island due to the fracas. The pilot is said to have requested Spanish police meet the EasyJet aircraft on arrival.
A Twitter user posted on the air traffic controllers’ site: “#GranCanaria flight to London returns to the airport for a conflicting passenger on board who, apparently, has attacked another.
“The crew requests a police presence upon arrival. #SafetyFirst.”
Full details of the incident, which took place on Monday, are yet to emerge.
A spokesperson for EasyJet said: “easyJet can confirm that flight EZY8692 from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to London Gatwick on 10 June returned from airborne to Las Palmas Gran Canaria airport.
“It was met by police due to a passenger on board behaving disruptively.
“Our cabin and ground crew are trained to assess 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.
“Whilst such incidents are rare, we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour onboard.
“The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always our highest priority.”
Footage from Flight Radar 24 captured the easyJet flight changing course and returning to Gran Canaria.
Last month a Jetstar flight from Sydney to Melbourne in Australia flight was disrupted when a plane passenger began displaying aggressive behaviour.
The flyer – identified only as a 26-year-old man – allegedly began acting abusively towards cabin crew prior to the flight. His disruptive behaviour is said to have escalated before take-off and other passengers called for him to be taken off, reported local television channel Nine News.
When he refused to leave the plane, Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers arrived on the scene.
Shocking footage shows the man fighting with the AFP as he attempts to shake them off.
Then, in an alarming move, he appears to head-butt a policeman twice as he thrashes around.
According to Nine News, he even “threw a couple of punches” in the altercation.
Also last month, an inebriated passenger on an Aeroflot flight in Russia became so aggressive he reportedly attacked both pilots in the cockpit of the Boeing 737 and is said to have broken the leg of a cabin crew member during his outburst.
Footage of the incident, obtained by The Mirror, also shows him threatening to “smash your face” when arguing with a male flight attendant over his treatment of a female colleague.
The man also is said to have attacked police when they arrived on the scene.
Additional reporting by Rita Sobot.
