TUI holidaymakers feared for their lives after an “intoxicated passenger” was heard making threats before trying to open the plane’s emergency exit mid-flight.
The man reportedly told fellow passengers “See you in heaven” before trying to open the cabin door at cruising altitude.
Flight TOM2731 from Paphos in Cyprus to Manchester, had already been delayed by several hours due to staffing problems.
It was forced to divert to Zagreb in Croatia early on Wednesday morning (16 August) because of a “disruptive passenger”.
Passengers told the Manchester Evening News that they saw the man openly taking a substance that looked like cocaine and praying on the floor, before he made threats towards other holidaymakers and cabin crew.
One passenger named Kirsty, who was travelling with her husband and two children on the flight, described the incident as the “most frightening experience of my life”.
She told MEN: “Tui allowed an intoxicated and aggressive passenger on our flight. We all felt scared when he first arrived on the plane but flight attendants were still serving him drinks.
“We watched the passenger take cocaine and try to open the plane door.
“I honestly thought my life was going to be taken. This passenger pointed at me and my children and told us that he would ‘see us in heaven’.
“As he crouched on the floor praying I screamed for help. The only help I received was from my husband who took matters into his own hands to defend and protect everyone on this flight.”
Screams were heard throughout the plane as the man tried to open the emergency exit, before he was eventually restrained by fellow passengers, said Kirsty.
After they had arrived in Croatia at 1am, Kirsty said there was nobody at the terminal to welcome the shaken passengers, adding that they were left for several hours without any food or drink.
“We were left sitting on the airport floor since the early hours of the morning and have now finally been taken to a hotel 20 minutes away from the airport,” she said.
“We have just received a message saying we should be flying back to Manchester at 7.30pm tonight.”
A spokesperson for Tui said: “We’re very sorry to all customers impacted by the delay to TOM2731 and subsequent diversion due to a disruptive passenger.
“Unfortunately due to ongoing disruption with the aviation ecosystem, the original flight was delayed overnight as crew had reached their regulated hours. Our Tui reps supported customers throughout and the airport and the flight departed on Monday 15 August in the evening.
“The health and safety of our customers and crew is always our highest priority and due to a disruptive passenger the flight was forced to divert to Zagreb, Croatia.
“The passenger was offloaded, was met by police will not travel with Tui when the flight departs later today. We take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour on our flights.
“We have a TUI team supporting customers in Croatia, we have kept them updated with regular communication, have sourced accommodation and provided meals and refreshments.
“We thank customers for their understanding and patience and would like to reassure customers that instances like this are extremely rare.”
