A fuming flyer has told how his flight on holiday turned into a nightmare as a rowdy couple forced it to be diverted. Hans Mahrla had been looking forward to his first trip abroad for two years since the start of the pandemic.
But after boarding the Liverpool John Lennon Airport plane to Tenerife, Hans and his fellow passengers watched on in horror as the boozed up pair turned it into the "flight from hell". After being abused by the couple, the crew had no choice but to reroute the plane to Lisbon, Portugal.
Branding the two passengers' behaviour as "shameful", Hans, 49, told the Liverpool Echo there was no warning of what was to come when they first boarded. He said the flight seemed to be going fine and the pilot even announced they were ahead of schedule.
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But all of a sudden a couple sitting several rows behind him started acting up after downing duty free drink. They also allegedly smoked in the toilet. Hans said: "We were making good time and then some time mid flight a couple were obviously drinking too much.
“An announcement was made telling people they should not be drinking duty free stuff and smoking was also prohibited on the plane. Next thing we know they closed the toilets at the back of the plane because they found cigarette butts in there.
“Ten minutes later the pilot said we were landing in Lisbon - the woman started to kick off and threaten other passengers. There was quite a bit of commotion on the plane." The couple were led off the plane but as the flight eventually went to leave an hour-and-a-half later another issue arose when a "comatose" man tried to go to the toilet. The man was forced back by staff but urinated all over his seat.
Hans added it was "pouring down the row behind him". The man was looked after by his friends who stayed behind once the plane had landed. Hans said easyJet's staff were "brilliant and very professional" throughout the ordeal. The staff were "very apologetic" but passengers "all felt safe on the flight".
The passengers reportedly clapped and cheered when they landed. Hans said: "Everyone just wanted to enjoy the holiday - they didn't want to be held up like that. We were all happy to just land in Tenerife."
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “easyJet can confirm that flight EZY7169 from Liverpool to Tenerife on July 6 diverted to Lisbon and was met by police as a result of two passengers on board behaving disruptively. EasyJet’s cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time.
"Whilst such incidents are rare, we take them very seriously, and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour on board. The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is our highest priority." Merseyside Police were also contacted but said responsibility for the passengers fell to the Portuguese authorities.
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