Footage of a violent "OAP" who caused a Jet2 flight to be diverted after lashing out at cabin crew has been shared online. In clips posted to TikTok, the grey-haired woman becomes increasingly angry, with a fellow passenger saying her frustration started after her request for free champagne was denied by staff.
The situation continued to escalate on the flight from Manchester Airport to Rhodes, with the pensioner hitting an employee twice. Her behaviour led to the plane being diverted to Munich, where the disruptive woman, believed to in her 70s, was handed over to police.
Passengers onboard the flight last Wednesday, August 26, claim that after the woman was declined free champagne, she ordered a gin and tonic instead. However, the drink was then taken off her by crew members after she continued to be aggressive towards them, Manchester Evening News reports.
A male employee attempted to calm her down, but then had to try and restrain her after she started violently flailing her arms and legs around. He went to sit down next to her before having to leap to his feet as the woman lashed out again, hitting him across the head. The woman then smacked her head on the overhead locker, before reaching out and smacking the man across the face twice.
Another member of staff came over to help restrain the woman, who fell back into her seat before the clip ended. One of the passengers on the flight, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Mirror that the woman also urinated in her seat before she was escorted off the plane by nine police officers.
They said: "A woman on the flight repeatedly asked the flight attendants for free champagne. The flight attendant told the woman that wasn't part of the service and she bought a gin and tonic in the end." At this point, the woman reportedly began to get aggressive, which prompted the flight attendant to remove her drink. The witness said the woman had started swearing and had violent outbursts.
At one point she got up and tried to open the cabin door mid-flight before two male passengers had to hold her down when she tried to punch other people, they claimed. They added: "She urinated over three seats and repeatedly had bursts of violent episodes until we had to make an emergency landing in Munich.
"Upon arrival at Munich she was escorted off the plane by around nine police officers along with an ambulance and fire services. We were in Germany for over two hours. Jet2 handled this situation really well and the captain of the plane gave everyone complimentary drinks."
A Jet2 spokesperson said: "We can confirm that flight LS819 from Manchester to Rhodes was diverted to Munich Airport so that a disruptive passenger could be offloaded. We would like to apologise to customers for this unforeseen delay and any inconvenience caused.
"The health and safety of our colleagues and customers remains our number one priority and, as a family friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour. We will not hesitate to vigorously pursue any costs incurred as a result of this diversion."
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