An EasyJet pilot was forced to halt the plane from taking off after 30 drunken passengers caused a major disruption onboard.
Police were summoned to the departure gate of the Malaga bound flight at Bristol airport, after a large group of young men refused to sit down and insisted on using the toilet during take-off.
The flight had already been delayed by an hour in the terminal, and passengers then had to wait another hour for the ejected passengers to collect their bags from the plane.
One passenger reported that everyone cheered when the last of the disruptive young men retrieved his items and was escorted off the plane.
An EasyJet pilot had to abort take-off due to 30 disruptive passengers
PAThe budget airline said that they are taking the incident “very seriously” and said they “do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour on board”.
Linda Sweeden, a passenger on the flight returning home to Spain, told Bristol Live: “The flight was delayed by an hour while we were still waiting in the departure lounge, and clearly that just gave these lads another hour's drinking time.”
She said that they were being loud at the gate, before boarding the plane and taking up the first six rows. Right after the safety briefing, one of the group stood up and began shouting: “If you don’t let me go to the toilet I’m going to p*** all over the floor!”
One after the other, the group began standing up and demanding to go to the toilet and arguing with stewards.
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Sweden continued: “I don’t know if the stewards pressed some kind of button but suddenly, the plane stopped, the engines stopped and suddenly they were all standing up arguing. It must’ve been really frightening for the elderly and disabled people in the very front row, and the stewards handled it really well.”
The cluster of the large group was then ordered off the plane, however, all of them decided to leave, resulting in a large applause once all 30 men had left.
The plane then finally took off and arrived in Malaga two hours after its original scheduled time.
A spokesperson for the airline said: “EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY7004 from Bristol to Malaga on May 11 returned to stand due to some passengers behaving disruptively. The aircraft was met by police and the passengers were offloaded before the flight continued to Malaga.
The plane then finally took off and arrived in Malaga two hours after its original scheduled time
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“Our cabin crew are trained to assess 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 onboard. The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always easyJet's priority.”
Last week, two “rowdy” easyJet passengers were kicked off a flight from Tenerife to London Gatwick by police after drinking “almost a litre” of duty-free vodka.
After the plane landed at 2am on May 8, cheers and applause were heard in a video as the pair were ushered away.
One passenger on the flight claimed that a “litre vodka bottle” which “appeared to be almost empty” rolled out onto the tarmac when emptied by a police officer.
The witness added that the duo were in a “bad way”.
