An aircraft was forced to divert after a situation with a "disruptive passenger" escalated when the woman was told there was no free champagne on an the flight. A video of the unexpected outburst shows how the situation escalated with an "OAP" allegedly hitting a member of the Jet2 staff.
The footage was reported to have been taken during a flight from Manchester Airport to Rhodes on Wednesday, August 26. It was later shared on TikTok. In the video, which focuses on a grey-haired woman said to be roughly in her 70s, the passenger appears to be getting irritated.
A fellow passenger says her frustration started when her request for free champagne was declined. According to Manchester Evening News, the situation continued. The flight was forced to divert to Munich to offload the woman to police.
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Passengers on the flight claim the woman's anger started when she was told she couldn't have free champagne, prompting her to order a gin and tonic. Then, onlookers say the drink was taken away by members of the cabin crew after she continued to be aggressive.
Reporting in The Mirror, a male member of staff went over to try and speak with the woman, before having to try and restrain her arms when she flails them around. He then sits down next to her before having to leap to his feet as the woman lashed out again, hitting him across the head.
As the exchange continued, the woman is then said to have hit her head on the overhead locker, before reaching out and smacking the man across the face twice. Another member of staff came over to help restrain the woman, who fell back into her seat before the clip ended.
One passengers on the flight, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Mirror that the woman also urinated in her seat before she was escorted off the plane by nine police officers. They said: "A woman on the flight repeatedly asked the flight attendants for free champagne. The flight attendant told the woman that wasn't part of the service and she bought a gin and tonic in the end." At this point, the woman reportedly began to get aggressive, which prompted the flight attendant to remove her drink. The witness said the woman had started swearing and had violent outbursts.
At one point she got up and tried to open the cabin door mid-flight before two male passengers had to hold her down when she tried to punch other people, they claimed. Passengers added that they were forced to make an emergency landing in Munich. Adding: "Upon arrival at Munich she was escorted off the plane by around 9 police officers along with an ambulance and fire services. We were in Germany for over two hours. Jet2 handled this situation really well and the captain of the plane gave everyone complimentary drinks."
A Jet2 spokesperson said: "We can confirm that flight LS819 from Manchester to Rhodes was diverted to Munich Airport so that a disruptive passenger could be offloaded. We would like to apologise to customers for this unforeseen delay and any inconvenience caused. "The health and safety of our colleagues and customers remains our number one priority and, as a family friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour. We will not hesitate to vigorously pursue any costs incurred as a result of this diversion."
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