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A Ryanair flight from Tenerife to Glasgow Prestwick was forced to make an emergency landing in Portugal after a British woman allegedly became violent on board and made a false bomb threat.

 

The incident happened on Saturday May 17 and caused major disruption for passengers, who described feeling frightened and helpless as the situation unfolded mid-air. The flight was diverted to Faro Airport, where the woman was escorted off the plane by security personnel.

 

Fellow travellers told how the woman was removed from the aircraft and later restrained on the tarmac. Blair Morgan, a passenger on the flight, said the woman had been aggressive from the start.

 

“She was assaulting passengers whilst being drunk and vaping up and down the aisle,” said Blair. “She was also standing up on seats, taking people’s headphones off and threatening to hurt and bottle them.”

 

He added that the woman told passengers she was from Prestwick and had already been acting disruptively at the boarding gate. “She made a bomb threat towards everyone on the plane, along with saying she would ‘bottle’ people with a glass wine bottle,” he said. “Everyone was distressed and scared. It was really scary. It’s not something you really expect.”

 

Once the plane landed in Faro, police boarded the aircraft and removed the woman. She reportedly continued to lash out, spitting and hitting the officers before being restrained on the shuttle bus. Her boyfriend, who was travelling with her, was also taken off the flight.

 

Ryanair confirmed the diversion and said in a statement: “Crew called ahead for police assistance, who met the aircraft upon landing at Faro Airport and offloaded this passenger before this flight continued to Glasgow Prestwick. Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct.”

 

The incident comes just days after Spanish police were called to deal with an incident on a flight from Luton to Ibiza, after large groups of drunk tourists became aggressive and disorderly, causing widespread discomfort among other passengers.

 

With holiday season ramping up, airlines and local authorities are once again being forced to address growing concerns about disruptive behaviour on flights to popular Spanish destinations.

 

 

Image: Fabian Wüst/Pixabay