A “drunk” woman has been filmed clashing with fellow passengers on a Ryanair plane before being escorted off by police officers.
The scenes were filmed as holidaymakers were boarding the plane at Manchester Airport on 21 August, with the aircraft bound for the Spanish island of Ibiza.
The shouting match began in the aisle, with many passengers already in their seats and ready to depart. It is not immediately clear what caused the confrontation, but as things escalated, the woman can be heard repeatedly yelling “I will find you” in footage of the incident.
Children can be heard crying in the background, and someone off camera is heard saying: “This stupid b**ch is making us late.”
An angry passenger stands up to continue the slanging match mid-aisle as men believed to be family members try to hold them back. The woman then tries to hit them before being dragged backwards by a man in green who tries to deal with the angry holidaymakers himself.
“She was barging into everyone the second she got on the plane,” Lyndsay Cash, who was on the flight, told the Manchester Evening News.
“She was drunk, and when someone pointed that out she took offence and started kicking off with everyone. They just started fighting in the aisle and it got really aggressive. The stewardesses weren’t much use and kids were upset. I wasn’t happy with the way it was managed.
“It annoyed me and everyone else on the plane. Everyone clapped as she got escorted off and she even fought with police. I don’t think she should have been let on the plane and I think the stewards should have been much quicker.
“It was left for the passengers to deal with. If you can’t handle it, don’t drink.”
The incident occurred just 15 minutes before the scheduled departure and resulted in the plane being more than an hour late taking off.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed to The Independent that three people – a woman and two men, all in their 30s, were arrested on suspicion of being drunk on board an aircraft, while one of the men and the woman were further arrested on suspicion of assaulting police officers.
They have since been released under investigation, and a police spokesperson said: “Greater Manchester Police works closely with Manchester Airport and will take appropriate action against passengers who behave in a disruptive manner in order to keep other passengers safe.”
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “This flight from Manchester to Ibiza (21 August) was delayed ahead of take-off when a small number of passengers became disruptive. These passengers were removed from the aircraft by local police and the flight continued safely to Ibiza following a short delay.
“This is now a matter for local police. We sincerely apologise to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of these passenger’s disruptive behaviour.”
