Date Published: 02/10/2023
Passenger brawl forces easyJet flight from Manchester to divert to Lanzarote
The plane, originally bound for Tenerife, was diverted due to eight drunken and violent passengers
![Passenger brawl forces easyJet flight from Manchester to divert to Lanzarote](https://murciatoday.com//images/articles/23/10/2252090__11696248379_large.png)
Passengers aboard an easyJet flight from Manchester were subjected to an irritating delay on Friday September 29 when the pilot was forced to divert the Tenerife-bound flight to Lanzarote just after 1.20pm. Spanish air traffic controllers called police because they feared the “possibility of assaults” from “eight violent passengers”.
They said in a tweet: “The crew of a flight from Manchester to Tenerife South has informed us of the presence of eight violent passengers on board. Given the possibility of attacks, they have requested a detour to Lanzarote.”
When the pilot radioed about the ruckus, the plane was immediately given permission to land unscheduled in Lanzarote and Spanish police stormed the cabin to apprehend those responsible for the detour. The holidaymakers are understood to have been drunk when they started causing a serious disruption and will be fined by the Spanish Air Safety and Security Agency (AESA) for their dangerous and disruptive behaviour.
In these types of cases, passengers can be fined anything up to 46,000 euros, be forced to pay the cost associated with the diversion and face a flying ban from the airline.
According to local reports, the flight was eventually set back on course for Tenerife at 2.40pm.
An airline spokesperson said that “easyJet can confirm that flight EZY2011 from Manchester to Tenerife on 29 September was diverted to Lanzarote where the aircraft was met by police due to passengers behaving disruptively onboard. The flight then continued to Tenerife.
“Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour towards our crew or other passengers.”
On the same day, two intoxicated British women on a flight from Luton were met by police when their plane touched down in Fuerteventura at 1.30pm.
Image: easyJet
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