Mid-air chaos breaks out on Ryanair Manchester flight as passengers start fighting

09 September 2024 , 14:30

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Mid-air chaos breaks out on Ryanair Manchester flight as passengers start fighting

Footage showed one man being escorted off the aircraft after several passengers started having a fight on board a flight to the Spanish island of Ibiza after it left Manchester

Chaos erupted on an Ibiza-bound flight from Manchester after passengers onboard started "scrapping" with one another.

Flight FR2626 to Ibiza was forced to divert to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, in southern France, after the brawl broke out. The flight was captured by other passengers and showed the moment police boarded the plane after it landed at about 9pm UK time on Sunday night.

As the clip continued, one man was seen being escorted off the plane while other passengers were heard shouting. Several others were spotted filming the incident on their phones.

Passengers recorded the brawl on their phones

Another video shows passengers blocking the aisle as airline staff battled to regain control of the situation. The Manchester Evening News (MEN) reported passenger Jamal Stewart, 30, from Leeds, said: "A guy was arrested who’d started on a woman and then we stopped in France. He got arrested and she just lost it and started scrapping with everyone."

Max Ramsons, another passenger, said a man was "kicking off" before "fighting" erupted on board, with the plane being diverted to Toulouse. 

The plane was refuelled and left the airport about 90 minutes later and continued on to the Spanish island. According to FlightRadar24, the flight originally looped twice over the south of France before being diverted to Toulouse.

Two men were taken off the plane by French police

A Ryanair spokesperson told the MEN that a "small group" of "unruly passengers" became disruptive" during the flight. The spokesperson added that two people were "offloaded" in France before local police took over.

"This flight from Manchester to Ibiza (8 Sep) diverted to Toulouse after a small group of passengers became disruptive inflight," the spokesperson continued. "The crew called ahead for police assistance, who met the aircraft upon landing at Toulouse and offloaded two passengers before this flight continued to Ibiza.

"We sincerely apologise to passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of these unruly passengers’ behaviour, which was beyond Ryanair’s control. This is now a matter for local police."

Elizabeth Baker