A drunk Jet2 passenger who allegedly urinated inside the cabin and intimidated children on a Glasgow flight has been banned from the airline for life.
Eric Forrest, from Beith, displayed a 'catalogue of disgraceful behaviour' during the flight from Glasgow Airport to Tenerife South last week, including aggression towards staff and customers, the illicit consumption of alcohol and the suspected handling of illegal substances.
The 55-year-old's actions forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in Faro, Portugal, where he was removed from the plane by local police. Now, Jet2 is threatening to sue Forrest for costs of the diversion, which they say will likely reach a "five-figure sum".
According to a fellow passenger, Forrest was "already drunk" before boarding the flight on Thursday, April 13, and continued boozing on the plane.
The customer, who was travelling with his wife and 15-year-old daughter, told the Record: "I'm surprised he was allowed on the plane. He continued drinking on board and kept going to the toilet."
"About two and half hours into the flight, he started shouting and being disruptive on the plane. It was a nightmare - my daughter was quite upset and there were a lot of younger children on the plane who were really scared."
As a result of Forrest's behaviour, the flight was diverted to Faro where he was taken away by officers. Furious holidaymakers then had to disembark the aircraft so that it could be deep-cleaned by staff, adding a two hour delay to their journey.
The unscheduled stop also meant customers due to travel back to Glasgow from Tenerife had to spend another night in the Canary Islands because of the late arrival of the aircraft.
Jet2 managing director Phil Ward said the airline will now "vigorously pursue" Mr Forrest for the costs of the diversion, including hotel accommodation for customers and crew in Tenerife, airport charges, fuel costs, and cleaning costs.
He said: “Mr Forrest’s behaviour was absolutely disgraceful, and we would like to apologise to all of our customers on board and colleagues who have been impacted or affected. As a family friendly airline, we take a zero tolerance approach to such behaviour and we would like to thank the Portuguese authorities for their assistance in offloading Mr Forrest.”
He added: “As we have done before, we will now vigorously pursue Mr Forrest for all the costs that we incurred as a result of this diversion, as well as banning him for life. We have a very busy summer coming ahead and the safety and well-being of everyone on board our flights is paramount.
"This event should act as a stark warning to anyone who thinks that it might be acceptable to behave in an unacceptable manner onboard one of our flights."
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