Woman Throws Prosthetic Leg On Thomson Airways Flight: Plane Diverted After Unruly Passenger Demands Parachute, Cigarettes

A Scotland-bound plane from Tunisia had to be diverted to London’s Gatwick Airport Wednesday night after an irate woman allegedly threw her prosthetic leg and swore “blue murder” at the cabin crew on a Thomson Airways flight. The woman also allegedly tossed food at the crew and was questioned by Sussex police after the plane landed safely at Gatwick.

The 48-year-old woman, from Edinburgh, was arrested at Gatwick’s North Terminal and taken to a local police station following the incident, the U.K.’s ITV reported Thursday. Thomson Airways apologized to passengers on the Enfidha, Tunisia-to-Edinburgh flight in a statement.

"Unfortunately a passenger became disruptive on board and as a last resort the captain decided to divert the flight to Gatwick. Upon landing, the aircraft was met by local police and the passenger was removed for questioning. We would like to reassure customers that their safety is our priority at all times. Thomson Airways operates a zero tolerance policy with regards to any disruptive behavior on board and incidents of this type are extremely rare," the airliner said, according to Sky News.

A spokesman for the company said the woman allegedly “had been abusive and had thrown a prosthetic leg and food at [the] cabin crew. She was swearing blue murder, saying she was going to do this and that and the other, so the flight was diverted to Gatwick.

John Smith, a passenger on the plane, told ITV that the woman “was totally drunk” and demanded cigarettes and a parachute so she could jump out of the aircraft.

“She slapped a young girl and then assaulted the cabin crew with her prosthetic leg,” Smith said. “They took it off her, but she started kicking them with her good leg. It sounds funny, but it was not a laughing matter at the time. It was serious. She was totally drunk. It was pretty shocking.”