Some passengers caused chaos on flights this year, with some having to be diverted.
Rowdy behaviour caused aircraft diversions, with some incidents even being filmed by fellow passengers and shared on social media. This sort of behaviour can have serious consequences, including prosecution.
Disruptive passengers may also be asked to reimburse the airline for the cost of the diversion. Diversion costs typically range from £10,000 – £80,000 depending on the size of the aircraft and where it is forced to divert to.
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While acts of drunkenness on an aircraft face a maximum fine of £5,000 and two years in prison and the prison sentence for endangering the safety of an aircraft is up to five years. We took a look back at some of the incidents to have occurred on aircraft in 2023.
Ryanair flight turned around after 'mid-air fight' sees man arrested
Police officers arrested a man after a Ryanair plane was turned around mid-flight due to his alleged drunk and disruptive behaviour.
The Ryanair flight, which departed Manchester Airport on its way to Faro, Portugal, on September 18, was turned around mid-flight after the crew requested police assistance. An eye witness, who contacted the ECHO after the flight landed back in Manchester, claimed a passenger allegedly "got very violent and started a mid-air fight".
The eyewitness added the passenger was "slapped hard across the face" by a woman travelling with him because of his alleged behaviour towards another female passenger. A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police confirmed at the time a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of being drunk on an aircraft, two counts of common assault and a Section 4a public order.
Drunk dad banned by Ryanair slurs 'the Mancs are terrorising me'
A drunken dad who slurred "the Mancs are terrorising me" after terrifying passengers on board a Ryanair flight was banned by the airline.
John Medway was flying home from a family holiday in Fuerteventura to Liverpool John Lennon Airport on January 12 when his erratic behaviour started to terrify other passengers. The 32-year-old of Breck Road, Poulton, appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on March 31 after he had pleaded guilty to entering a flight when drunk.
The court heard how an hour into the flight a passenger told cabin crew Medway and his wife, who were with their three children, had an argument. The couple were separated and for 10 minutes Medway was calm.
Laura Simpson, prosecuting, said the manager of cabin crew on the flight had to speak to him again as his behaviour was becoming worse. Medway later described himself as only being "five out ten” drunk – but the court heard he had downed three quarters of a litre bottle of vodka.
Police attended when the plane landed and Medway was described waving his arms around on the aircraft and slurring his words and and said "the Mancs are terrorising me".
Officers repeatedly tried to calm him down and he was arrested and had to be helped off the plane as he was unable to hold onto the hand rails. The dad-of-three was said to be completely oblivious to the danger of walking on a live air field.
Ms Simpson said he was also rambling "Mancs terrorising". The court heard as well as being banned from Ryanair flights, the 32-year-old may be barred from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
The judge said a 20 week jail sentence was appropriate, but as the probation service felt they could work with him in a positive way she would suspend it for 12 months. She also ordered Medway to carry out 240 hours unpaid work and 30 hours rehabilitation actives and to pay costs totalling £274.
Woman removed from easyJet flight 'hit man over head with carrier bag'
A woman who was removed from an easyJet flight reportedly hit a man over the head with a carrier bag, according to passengers onboard.
The flight from Dalaman, Turkey, to Liverpool John Lennon Airport needed to make an emergency landing in Venice, after the crew reported three people behaving disruptively. The aircraft, which took off at 9.55pm on October 5 was then met by Italian police when it landed in Venice.
An eyewitness who was on board said he noticed the plane starting to descend and asked a member of cabin crew if the plane was being diverted, but they couldn't say.
The 52-year-old said: "They announced we were being diverted and four Italian police officers came onto the plane. The woman started shouting, there was a man who must have been travelling with her and was trying to plead his innocence saying it was all her and not him.
"She hit him over the head with a carrier bag, I don't know if anything was in it. A bottle of vodka was also taken from them but there wasn't that much left.
"There were children onboard the plane who shouldn't have had to have seen that."
An easyJet spokesperson confirmed three people were removed from the plane by police. While passengers told the ECHO they believe two men and a woman were arrested. After its emergency landing the flight continued on to Liverpool, where it arrived in John Lennon airport around two and a half hours late.
Drunk dad swore then bit police officer after being kicked off flight
A drunk dad bit a police officer after being kicked off a flight from Marrakech.
Mohammed Riaz, 42, reduced a member of cabin crew to tears when he was flying from Marrakech in Morocco to Liverpool John Lennon Airport on July 15, 2019. Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard Riaz was deemed to be intoxicated by a member of cabin crew, who refused to serve him anymore alcohol, MEN reports.
Following this, the dad-of-three became verbally abusive, the court heard. The court heard his "extremely erratic" behaviour continued and he was handcuffed as he continued to shout abuse aimed at the stewardess at the plane as he was led away. While being transported to custody in a vehicle, Riaz bit a police constable's forearm "leaving teeth marks but not breaking the skin", a judge was told.
Riaz was involved in a second incident on January 2, 2021, while travelling on a flight from Istanbul in Turkey to Manchester Airport. It was heard he was singing, dancing, refusing to wear a face covering, punching people's seats and shadowboxing in the aisles.
The aircraft was met by police at the gate and the court heard a number of families approached an officer to complain about Riaz's behaviour. He was handcuffed and taken through Border Control. The court heard it was there that Riaz, from Highfield Chase in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, abused a Border Force officer, saying he would "punch her f****** head in".
Riaz, who the court heard worked for a valeting business, was convicted in his absence on May 7, 2021, at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court of being drunk on an aircraft and assaulting an emergency worker. He went onto plead guilty at Manchester Magistrates' Court, in September, to three counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of or provoke unlawful violence.
Riaz, who has 19 previous convictions to his name arising from 30 offences, was jailed by Judge Joanne Woodward for a total of 14 months. She said his offending involved "highly abusive behaviour" that caused great distress to the air stewardess and other witnesses.
Drunk man 'high-fived' Ryanair passengers as police arrived on flight
A drunk man told Ryanair cabin crew he would not be "f***ing getting off" as officers were called to escort him from the plane.
Daniel Day was reported to police for being a "disruptive passenger" on the Ryanair flight from Manchester airport bound for Tenerife on July 16, this year. A court heard the 32-year-old became "vocal and angry" after his friend was asked to leave the flight due to an illness.
The captain asked for Day to be removed, but he refused. When police arrived in the flight, Day stood in the middle of the aisle before high fiving the other passengers and holding onto the seats.
He was eventually restrained and removed, Minshull Street Crown Court heard. Day, of Carlisle, was handed a suspended sentence after admitting an offence of being drunk on a plane, the MEN reports.
The court heard that as officers approached him he began to high five the other passengers and holding on to the back of the seats. Officers said they could smell alcohol on his breath.
Day, of Forest Hill, Carlisle, was handed three months imprisonment which was suspended for two years, 150 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £530 court costs.
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