A British man who was arrested on board a Ryanair flight in France could be facing up to five years in prison after allegedly attempting to open the plane doors mid-flight.
The man was on board a flight from London to Alicante which had to be diverted to Toulouse and officers boarded the aircraft to tackle behaviour from a group of 'drunk men'.
He had allegedly made repeated attempts to open the emergency doors, resulting in the pilots having to divert the flight and land so he could be removed from the Ryanair plane.
Advert
Fellow passengers cheered and filmed the moment of arrest as the man swore and tried to struggle against police officers as they put handcuffs on him.
At one point, the man went tumbling towards other passengers but officers were able to keep him restrained and move him down the aisle away from his seat.
Another passenger identifying themselves as the man's son kept shouting 'that's my dad, bro' and claimed that other passengers on board the plane 'started it'.
Others on board the flight said they'd been 'loud and unruly', with one passenger saying: "Even before takeoff, they were moving around the cabin, swapping seats and ignoring basic safety protocols."
Advert
According to the Evening Standard, the man handcuffed and escorted off the flight was taken to a cell where he could sober up and it was several hours before he was in a condition to speak.
It's reported that he's now facing a judicial enquiry and could spend up to five years in prison.
Ryanair said in a statement: "This flight from London Luton to Alicante (26 September) diverted to Toulouse after a small group of passengers became disruptive onboard.
"Crew called ahead for police assistance, who met the aircraft upon landing at Toulouse Airport and offloaded these passengers before this flight continued to Alicante.
Advert
"Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour, ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a respectful and stress-free environment, without unnecessary disruption.
"This is now a matter for local police."
People being escorted off planes is an unfortunate risk of air travel as there are all sorts of examples of aircraft being forced to land and some passengers arrested because of disruptive behaviour.
Generally it's a really bad idea as you're likely to encounter the police, get yourself into a heap of trouble and then have all your fellow passengers cheer as you're led away.
Joe Harker