Date Published: 14/05/2024
30 Brits kicked off easyJet flight to Malaga before plane even takes off
The flight was stuck at Bristol Airport while police removed the unruly passengers
Passengers eager to jet off to the sunny Costa del Sol were stuck on the tarmac in the UK this week as police struggled to remove around 30 drunk and disorderly travellers who were causing chaos before the plane ever left the runway.
The easyJet flight from Bristol to Málaga was put back by more than an hour when dozens of unruly Britons insisted on using the toilet while the plane was preparing for take-off, refusing to remain in their seats and putting the entire flight at risk. According to the airline itself, the pilot had no choice but to abort and return to the departure gate, where several officers were waiting.
For unrelated reasons, the flight had already been delayed by an hour, and the overexcited holidaymakers used this time to have a few too many drinks at the airport bar. That’s according to another passenger on the flight, who said that the 30 or so travellers were extremely rowdy even then.
The plane was eventually boarded but as the pilot was taxiing along the runway, one passenger got out of his seat, and the situation escalated from there, Linda Sweeden explained.
“Everyone was seated ready to depart, we’d had the safety briefing and the plane was moving round to the end of the runway to take off, and then suddenly one of the men at the front stood up.
“A steward asked him to sit down and he started shouting, so loud we could hear at the back: ‘If you don’t let me go to the toilet I’m going to p*** all over the floor!’ Then another one stood up and said he wanted to go too, then another, and very quickly about five or six of them were standing up, in the aisle, arguing with the stewards, who were telling them to sit down.”
When this failed, the plane returned to the departure gate and all 30 of the passengers were escorted off.
An easyJet spokesperson said they were treating the incident “very seriously”, and they do “not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour on board”.
Image: easyJet
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