Airline Staff Were 'Disinterested' As Drunk Passenger Grabbed Emergency Exit Door Mid-Air

Ryanair passengers recently had a terrifying experience after a man grabbed the emergency exit door mid-air and vomited all over himself. The incident took place aboard a Ryanair flight from Manchester, England, to Tenerife, Spain, earlier this month.

Speaking to Sun Online on Wednesday, 47-year-old Alan Wild said he was with his girlfriend and stepson when the drunk passenger boarded the flight.

"We could hear some commotion going on at the front door...basically this guy got on the plane and was hammered. He got to the door and he was swearing at the cabin crew at the top of his voice to the point where my 11-year-old stepson commented on how drunk he was. He was telling them to p--- off and was being abusive and loud. But they didn't stop him boarding the plane,” he said.

Things got worse when the unidentified passenger carelessly started walking on the emergency exit aisle.

"Some other passengers called a steward and said he shouldn't be sat there...this guy couldn't even put his seat belt on. If you read the emergency exit conditions, a legal requirement, you’ve got to be mobile, not hammered and in full control. But the cabin crew weren't interested. They kept telling everyone 'if it escalates, we will deal with it'. So, we went along with that,” Wild said.

A while later, the passenger vomited on himself.

"You can imagine the smell. I saw his bag open...he had consumed three quarters of a bottle of whisky. The cabin crew left him covered in vomit for about 20 minutes. He was unable to deal with it himself, his friend was trying to sort him out. He then sat there spitting on the floor and hanging off the emergency exit door. His arms were all over it. Everyone was sat there thinking 'what is going on here'? Everyone was very frightened. Everyone within a 10-seat radius was well aware of the situation. It was awful,” he added.

Upon reaching Spain, the drunk passenger was helped off the flight while all the other passengers were asked to wait in a hot shuttle bus for over 20 minutes.

In a statement to Sun Online, a customer service representative for the airline said, "For the safety and comfort of our customers and crew we adhere to strict guidelines in relation to customers who are disruptive or under the influence of alcohol. In most circumstances customers who create a disturbance at check-in or the boarding gate are not permitted to board the plane.”

"If a customer appears to behave in an unacceptable manner during a flight the crew will inform the Captain. The Captain and crew will then decide how to deal with the offending customer. Any customer who acts in a disruptive manner during a flight will be cautioned by the crew or Captain. If they continue to cause a disturbance the police will be alerted and will meet the flight on landing. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to the other passengers on this flight,” the representative added.