Passengers were "distraught" after fights broke out on a flight, forcing the plane to divert.
The ECHO previously reported how a number of passengers were hauled off a Ryanair flight after a "drunken" man reportedly "urinated" on a seat. The flight, from Manchester to Tenerife, was forced to divert to the Portuguese island of Porto Santo, on Sunday evening (September 18).
The man and a small number of other passengers were removed from the plane after becoming "disruptive". One passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, previously told the ECHO the man looked "rotten" drunk and was repeatedly told to sit down by cabin crew before the pilot chose to divert the flight.
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However, another passenger, who also wished to remain anonymous, said the whole experience was horrifying. He added: "It was distressing. I had my nine-week old daughter with me. The air crew weren't to blame, they just couldn't control them. Everyone was getting upset about it.
"I was with my partner and her family and my partner was very upset and became emotional, so did her sister. This was her very first flight and she was quite distraught."
As a result of the diversion, the family was due to arrive at 8pm, but instead arrived around 2am, meaning they were forced to pay an $80 late check-in fee at their hotel and missed out on several hours of their holiday. The dad said: "It was a massive inconvenience and not an enjoyable experience. We had the hotel saying we would be checking in too late."
The plane landed in Porto Santo, where local police removed the rowdy passengers from plane before the flight continued onto Tenerife. Passengers previously issued a demand for a rule change after a Ryanair flight was forced to divert.
The anonymous dad told the ECHO that the man was intimidating staff and passengers and despite being told to calm down, he would continue. An argument broke out between the male passenger and a female passenger when both became "rowdy and disruptive".
He added the female passenger "punched" another passenger and had to be "restrained" in her seat. It is also believed the man "urinated" before a fight broke out, forcing the anonymous dad to "step in and try to break it up", before the pilot made the decision to land the plane. The dad added: "I informed the crew about the female who was also being aggressive.
"Airports should stop serving alcohol, these people were chanting at the gates, being very loud and pushing their way through. It should be banned really, but more importantly there needs to be more vetting or screening at the gates.
"A few people were saying they were going to cause problems because they were chanting as loud as possible at the gates. They were constantly told but they wouldn't listen, we were on the plane for eight hours.
"It makes us not want to fly with Ryanair again, this is the third time something like this has happened that we have witnessed."
A Ryanair spokesperson said: "This flight from Manchester to Tenerife (18 Sept) diverted to Porto Santo after a small number of passengers became disruptive inflight. The aircraft landed safely, and these passengers were removed from the aircraft by local police before it continued to Tenerife.”
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