A gang of “violent passengers” forced an easyJet flight heading for Tenerife to make an emergency diversion to Lanzarote.
EasyJet flight EZY34TV left Manchester on Friday (September 29) at around 7am. It was meant to head to Tenerife but landed in Lanzarote at 1.20pm local time.
Staff were forced to reroute their flight path due to “eight violent passengers”. Police met the aircraft upon landing.
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Four men on board the aircraft will be fined after they were identified and reported to the Spanish Air Safety and Security Agency (AESA). The men were reportedly “drunk” and “causing problems”.
However, they are said to have cooperated with police in Lanzarote.
Air traffic controllers assisted the pilot in arriving at the unintended destination They said: “The crew of a flight from Manchester to Tenerife South has informed us of the presence of eight violent passengers on board. Faced with the possibility of assaults, they have requested to divert to Lanzarote.
“We instructed them to a direct route and cut their approach where possible. At the same time, police presence was coordinated to their arrival. We reiterate our support for aircrews and passengers who have to endure these situations."
The fines could range from anywhere between £50 and £40,000, and troublemakers can be made to pay diversion costs and even face being banned from the airline.
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY2011 from Manchester to Tenerife on 29 September was diverted to Lanzarote where the aircraft was met by police due to passengers behaving disruptively onboard. The flight then continued to Tenerife.
“EasyJet's cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate 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 towards our crew or other passengers. We would like to apologise to the other passengers for any inconvenience caused.
“The safety and well-being of our passengers, crew, and ground agents is always easyJet's priority.”
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