Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Passenger brawl on Ryanair Edinburgh flight forces emergency landing

Police removed passengers in Porto from the flight to Tenerife

Natalie Wilson
Wednesday 28 February 2024 06:36 EST
Comments
The Ryanair plane made an unscheduled landing in Portugal due to “disruptive” passengers
The Ryanair plane made an unscheduled landing in Portugal due to “disruptive” passengers (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Ryanair flight from Edinburgh to Tenerife was forced to divert for an emergency landing in Portugal after multiple passengers became “disruptive” and started fighting mid-flight.

In a huge brawl, the passengers hurled insults and bottles at one another and had to be separated by “powerless” cabin crew just two hours into the almost five-hour flight.

Terrified children onboard flight FR2969 were reportedly “in tears” over the ordeal.

Footage captured from inside the cabin shows a man and woman pointing and yelling at each other to, “Shut up, shut the f*** up”.

The man responds: “It was f***ing your man.”

When another female passenger attempted to diffuse the situation, the enraged woman shouted back: “Shut up you little c***. Shut the f*** up.”

The rowdy passengers were removed from the plane by police in Porto, Portugal before the plane continued its journey to the Canary Islands two hours behind schedule.

One passenger called the “out of control” trip, the “worst flight of my life”.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: “This flight from Edinburgh to Tenerife (25 Feb) diverted to Porto when a small number of passengers became disruptive onboard.

“Crews called ahead for police assistance and the aircraft was met by local police upon arrival who removed these passengers before this flight continued to Tenerife.

“This is now a matter for local police.”

It’s the second disorderly incident on the Edinburgh to Tenerife flightpath in the last week.

Two men were removed from a Ryanair plane by Spanish police after a fight erupted onboard the same route just five days earlier.

A series of similar incidents plagued the budget Irish carrier last year. Police officers removed a “drunk” man from a Ryanair flight after he started a fight onboard in September, and a woman was filmed clashing with fellow passengers before being escorted off a plane in August.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in