Flight Diverted After 'Disruptive Passenger' Tries To 'Aggravate Passengers'

A TUI Airways flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Manchester, England, made an emergency landing last week after a “disruptive passenger” attempted to “aggravate” other passengers, the airline said. The passenger was reportedly drunk prior to boarding the flight.

The Wednesday flight diverted to Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada, and the man was reportedly escorted off the flight by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as his partner, the Manchester Evening News reported Wednesday. An unnamed passenger aboard the Dutch carrier said that the man “kept walking up and down the aisles, trying to aggravate passengers.”

“The flight crew did refuse to serve him alcohol. He kept saying, ‘You have given it to everyone else,’” the witness told the Evening News. “His partner tried to calm him down but in the end the flight crew had to separate them. Then we were told we were diverting to Gander Airport in Newfoundland to offload him.”

The passenger was not identified by name, though CBC reported last week that he was a 24-year-old British man. He also reportedly faces charged under the Aeronautics Act and was held ahead of his court appearance last Thursday.

The Evening News reported that the man “had been disruptive during the bus transfer prior to the flight,” though it was unclear what exacerbated his behavior to the point that the flight was forced to land.

The plane reportedly spent two hours on the ground in Canada before continuing on Manchester.

“Once the passenger was offloaded and after a short delay we can confirm that the aircraft departed safely and continued its journey to Manchester,” a spokesperson for the airline told the Evening News. “We would like to again apologise to any passengers inconvenienced by this and would like to reassure customers that we take a zero tolerance approach to any behaviour of this kind.”