UPDATE: |Chaos on Ryanair flight from Manchester Airport as pilot aborts landing after passenger’s booze ‘confiscated’ News

“The crew had to get two spare seatbelts and tried pinning him down on the seat”

Ryanair staff had to use spare belts to strap down an “unruly” passenger after he refused to sit during landing, according to witnesses.

The incident reportedly happened on a flight from Manchester to Rhodes when the passenger began shouting at the cabin crew earlier this month.

Staff on board had confiscated two bottles of alcohol from him and denied him further service, onlookers said.

After refusing to take his seat for landing, he is believed to have broken free from restraints, forcing the Ryanair pilot to abort the descent, circle back, and attempt another landing.

Upon touchdown in Rhodes on April 3, local police boarded the aircraft to take the man off the plane.

A video captured by Emily, 26, who was on board, shows the chaotic scene with staff and passengers surrounding the man and a crew member loudly instructing him to “Sit down, now.” The footage also includes police officers escorting the man down the aisle after landing.

Emily said: “The flight was going completely fine until the cabin crew came up to me and my partner at the front of the plane and asked us if we were travelling together and if we could be separated because a little girl needed to come down to the front of plane with her dad because a man was being disruptive.

“We were together so they asked someone else instead who moved and that’s when I got made aware of this guy being really disruptive at the back of the plane.

“The crew had to get two spare seatbelts and tried pinning him down on the seat.

“He got out of the seat again. Staff were shouting at him, telling him to sit down and he was squaring up to staff.

“He had already had two bottles of alcohol confiscated off him.”

She added that air staff had issued a warning over the intercom that anyone found consuming alcohol purchased at Duty Free before the flight would be apprehended by police upon landing unless they stowed it away, in which case no further action would be taken.

Emily said: “As we were supposed to come down to land I could hear cabin crew shout at him to sit down.

“We had to go back up to circle the island until he would sit down again which was quite scary.

“Once he had landed we all had to stay put while police came up to take him off. He got taken off on his own. It was eventful.”

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “The crew of this flight from Manchester to Rhodes on April 3 called ahead for police assistance after a passenger became disruptive onboard. The aircraft was met by local police upon arrival at Rhodes Airport and this passenger was removed.

“Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour, ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a safe and respectful environment, without unnecessary disruption.

“This is a matter for local police.”

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