A TUI Airways flight from Cancun to Manchester, England was forced to make an emergency landing to offload an unruly passenger last week.
According to the Manchester Evening News, the October 25 flight was diverted to Gander International Airport in eastern Canada after the intoxicated man allegedly attempted to "aggravate" other passengers after being denied more alcohol.
"On the flight the disruptive passenger kept walking up and down the aisles, trying to aggravate passengers," said an unidentified passenger. "The flight crew did refuse to serve him alcohol. He kept saying, 'you have given it to everyone else.'"
The passenger, whom a witness claimed was already behaving disruptively on the bus transfer prior to the flight, was escorted off the plane by police in Newfoundland.
The man's partner, who tried to calm the passenger down, according to witnesses, was allowed to remain on the flight to Manchester.
"We're aware of the situation that occurred on board flight TOM173 from Cancun to Manchester, which diverted to Canada due to a disruptive passenger," a TUI Airways spokesman told the Evening News. "Once the passenger was offloaded and after a short delay we can confirm that the aircraft departed safely and continued its journey to Manchester."
"We would like to again apologize to any passengers inconvenienced by this and would like to reassure customers that we take a zero-tolerance approach to any behavior of this kind."
According to CBC News, the man was a 24-year-old British national. He spent six days in a Gander prison cell but was released after pleading guilty to violating the Aeronautics Act.
In another frightening incident last month, a 32-year-old Australian woman had to be tied down on the 12-hour flight from Brisbane to Los Angeles after she mixed wine and antihistamines and began attacking the flight crew. A man blamed edible marijuana for a similar outburst on Delta Air Lines flight from Seattle to Beijing this past summer.
While a drink or two can certainly help take the edge off on a long-haul flight, travelers are always encouraged to practice moderation.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
