A Ryanair flight was forced to divert after a “mass brawl” erupted between passengers just 36 minutes after take off.
Holidaymakers were seen screaming at each other midair as the crew attempted to diffuse the situation.
The row reportedly broke out between two families onboard a flight from Agadir to London Stansted on Wednesday.
One passenger claimed the fight escalated after a man, believed to be in his late 20s, asked another traveller to move so he could sit with his wife and young children.
The row reportedly broke out between two families onboard a flight from Agadir to London Stansted on Wednesday
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However, the woman who was sitting with her own daughter is said to have refused before the man began threatening her.
After take off, the passenger’s husband – understood to be in his 30s – reportedly argued in his wife’s defence.
Punches were then thrown as staff intervened, according to witnesses.
“They were trying to punch each other. One of the families was part of a larger group so other passengers started to join in,” one Briton on the flight told The Sun.
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“Then a lady in the row behind started to have a panic attack because of everything going on.
“She was screaming and there were kids crying. It was like a snowball effect.”
They added: “We were only in the air for 36 minutes before we had to do an unexpected landing. It was so stressful.
“It was like the flight from hell. And it all escalated from that one passenger wanting to change seats.”
The plane landed in Marrakech where nine people were escorted away by police.
The plane landed in Marrakech where nine people were escorted away by police
PA
During the row, another passenger became ill and had to be given oxygen mid-flight.
After landing, he was deemed unfit to fly and became abusive towards staff as he refused to leave the aircraft.
It was more than two hours later when Ryanair staff managed to get all the disruptive holidaymakers off the flight, by which point, the crew had reached their maximum flying hours.
Passengers were booked onto a flight the next morning, which was later cancelled – meaning they didn’t land in Stansted until Thursday evening.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “We sincerely apologise to passengers for this diversion and subsequent delay caused by a small group of disruptive passengers, which was out of Ryanair’s control.”
Source Agencies
