by Donald Wood
Last updated: 1:04 PM ET, Tue August 29, 2017
A group of drunken passengers caused travel headaches for others by forcing an emergency landing and fighting with police.
According to the Daily Mail, the Ryanair flight was en route from the United Kingdom to the Spanish party island of Ibiza when a group of male passengers became irritated that attendants refused to serve them more alcohol.
One of the men grabbed a flight attendant by the arm to get her attention, sparking a verbal battle between crew members and the drunken group. As a result, attendants called for the pilot, who diverted the flight to Bordeaux-Merignac Airport in France.
[CALLOUT]
After the plane landed safely, local police boarded the flight to remove the disruptive passengers and led them onto the tarmac. As passengers watched police take the men away, the drunken group became aggressive and officers were forced to subdue members of the party on the airport tarmac.
"The plane was diverted to Bordeaux because of security problems on board. Police were waiting for the flight when it landed, and arrests were made on board," a Bordeaux airport official said. "Unruly passengers were removed, and they caused further problems as they were being escorted away. The incident is still being investigated [and] could lead to criminal charges."
[READMORE]READ MORE: Southwest Passenger Tackled, Tied to Seat[/READMORE]
A Ryanair spokesperson said the airline industry must make changes to limit the sale of alcohol at airports to help avoid similar situations. By instituting a two-drink limit per passenger or banning alcohol sales before 10 a.m., the spokesperson believes the number of incidents would decrease.
Shortly after the incident, the Ryanair flight continued to Ibiza.
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