Yahoo News EasyJet passengers cheer as 30 drunken yobs kicked off plane
An easyJet flight's departure from Bristol Airport was delayed after thirty rowdy passengers were ejected for attempting to use the toilet during take-off. The flight, destined for Malaga, had already been delayed by an hour when the pilot aborted the take-off due to disruptive behaviour from a large group of young men who refused to sit down and demanded to use the toilet.
The police were summoned to the departure gate to meet the plane. Passengers then endured another hour's delay as the unruly group were made to collect their luggage and escorted back to the terminal by the police.
One passenger reported that the remaining travellers spontaneously cheered as the last of the disruptive group left the plane.
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EasyJet said it is taking the incident 'very seriously', emphasising that it 'does not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour on board'. A passenger informed BristolLive that the group of young men had been causing a disturbance even before boarding the plane.
Linda Sweeden, a passenger on the flight, said: "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. "They were being loud at the gate, but luckily I was sat at the back of the plane and they were at the front. There were loads of them, apart from the front row for the elderly and disabled people, they took up maybe six or seven rows at the front of the plane, there were at least 30 of them," Linda added, reports Bristol Live.
The situation escalated as the aircraft prepared for take-off: "Everyone was seated ready to depart, we'd had the safety briefing and the plane was moving round to the end of the runway to take off, and then suddenly one of the men at the front stood up."
Linda described the disruptive behaviour: "A steward asked him to sit down and he started shouting, so loud we could hear at the back: 'If you don't let me go to the toilet I'm going to p*** all over the floor! '" She went on to say: "Then another one stood up and said he wanted to go too, then another, and very quickly about five or six of them were standing up, in the aisle, arguing with the stewards, who were telling them to sit down.
"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," she added.
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The aircraft then resumed movement, heading back to the gate. "The stewards ordered off about five or six of these men, but I don't know what happened but all of them stood up and got off," she continued.
"When the door closed behind them, there was this big cheer of relief from everyone else, and the captain announced that we would be delayed a little bit longer but would be on our way soon.
"He even joked that there were loads of seats free near the front if anyone wanted an upgrade," she remarked.
Onlookers observed as baggage handlers were summoned. They had to remove all the bags from the plane, and the group that was removed had to identify and collect their luggage before the rest could be reloaded.
"While we were waiting for all this, ironically, people were allowed to go to the loo - they allowed families with children to go first and then everyone could. We'd been waiting for around an hour more there," Linda said.
Eventually, the flight departed and landed in Malaga approximately two hours later than initially planned.
An easyJet spokesperson has confirmed the airline's commitment to safety following a recent disturbance. "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.
"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," they added.
