Woman Thrown Off Flight for Punching Flight Attendant

by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:00 PM ET, Mon August 31, 2015

A drunk and disorderly passenger on a flight from London to Ibiza reportedly punched an EasyJet flight attendant and was arrested in Spain when the plane was forced to make an emergency landing.

In a report from John Hutchinson of the Daily Mail, a female passenger boarded EasyJet Flight EZY3043 at London Stansted Airport at around 6 a.m. local time. According to witness accounts, the woman was already drunk before entering the plane.

The flight was going as planned until about 30 minutes before it was expected to land in Ibiza. The inebriated woman reportedly punched a male flight attendant, forcing the pilot to call for a diversion to Barcelona-El Prat Airport, where she was taken into police custody.

An anonymous passenger told the Daily Mail about the incident, saying, "Three girls boarded the plane from Stansted, for the 6 a.m. flight, and it was clear they were completely drunk. Mid-flight there was something happening at the back of the plane, and everyone was turning around. I was shocked to see one of the girls was screaming and shouting and punching the flight attendant. We were probably only about 30 minutes from Ibiza, but the pilot came on and said we would have to land in Barcelona. There, the police came on and the girl was taken off the plane. Even when she was in the police car, she was kicking and screaming, it was a shocking incident."

The EasyJet flight was delayed about an hour total, but the remaining passengers-including the two women who were on the flight with the alleged assailant-were allowed to continue on to the final destination of Ibiza.

Witnesses claim the plane's pilot announced that the woman would be banned for life.

A spokesperson for EasyJet told the Daily Mail, "EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY3043 from London Stansted to Ibiza diverted to Barcelona due to a passenger onboard behaving disruptively. The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always EasyJet's priority. Police met the aircraft on landing and the passenger was arrested. The aircraft has continued to Ibiza. While such incidents are rare we take them very seriously, do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour onboard and always push for prosecution."

For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.