A Wizz Air plane en route to Egypt was forced to divert to Greece after a “drunk” woman had to be removed mid-flight after abusing the crew.
Passengers departing from London Gatwick to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada say the flight became “absolute bedlam” when the woman began moving seats and shouting at staff.
The woman, who has not been named but believed to be in her 40s, is believed to have been drinking throughout most of the flight.
Two hours into the journey, the woman started to “kick off”, with the cabin crew having to try and calm down the unruly passenger.
Witnesses said she started shouting “call the police”, repeatedly.
A captain later came on the tannoy to announce: “If the unruly passenger doesn't return to her seat in two minutes we are making an emergency landing.”
Passenger Micheal Hands, 58, who was travelling with his girlfriend Catherine Roberts, told the Daily Mail: “It was absolute bedlam, I've never seen anything like it.
“This woman had clearly been drinking all flight and maybe the crew shouldn't have carried on serving her as it probably led to her kicking off.”
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The pilot then made an emergency landing in Athens, with police embarking the plane to escort the unruly woman off the Airbus A321.
Video footage taken onboard shows the woman leaving the plane, with one passenger heard to shout “sorry doesn’t really cut it” at her. The woman replied: “Shout your mouth.”
Following a two hour delay in the Greek capital whilst the woman was dealt with, the aircraft finally departed Athens and landed at Hurghada, just a couple of hours later than scheduled.
In a statement, Wizz Air said: “We can confirm that a passenger aboard our W9 5777 London Gatwick - Hurghada flight on the 12th of March had to be removed from the flight due to inappropriate behaviour towards our crew.
“This passenger's inexcusable conduct forced this flight to divert to Athens where it was delayed for a short time before going on to the destination.
“This then further disrupted the return flight from Hurghada back to London because of crew duty time limitations.”
The airline said that the safety and security of those onboard is its “number one priority”.
It added: “Wizz Air has a strict policy against harassment and passenger misconduct and will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to ensure the safety and security of everyone aboard our flights.”
The airline confirmed it will be looking into legal action against the woman, who “negatively impacted” other passengers “who work hard to enjoy a trip away”.
Find Out More...
Passengers departing from London Gatwick to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada say the flight became “absolute bedlam” when the woman began moving seats and shouting at staff.
The woman, who has not been named but believed to be in her 40s, is believed to have been drinking throughout most of the flight.
Two hours into the journey, the woman started to “kick off”, with the cabin crew having to try and calm down the unruly passenger.
Witnesses said she started shouting “call the police”, repeatedly.
A captain later came on the tannoy to announce: “If the unruly passenger doesn't return to her seat in two minutes we are making an emergency landing.”
Passenger Micheal Hands, 58, who was travelling with his girlfriend Catherine Roberts, told the Daily Mail: “It was absolute bedlam, I've never seen anything like it.
“This woman had clearly been drinking all flight and maybe the crew shouldn't have carried on serving her as it probably led to her kicking off.”
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The pilot then made an emergency landing in Athens, with police embarking the plane to escort the unruly woman off the Airbus A321.
Video footage taken onboard shows the woman leaving the plane, with one passenger heard to shout “sorry doesn’t really cut it” at her. The woman replied: “Shout your mouth.”
Following a two hour delay in the Greek capital whilst the woman was dealt with, the aircraft finally departed Athens and landed at Hurghada, just a couple of hours later than scheduled.
In a statement, Wizz Air said: “We can confirm that a passenger aboard our W9 5777 London Gatwick - Hurghada flight on the 12th of March had to be removed from the flight due to inappropriate behaviour towards our crew.
“This passenger's inexcusable conduct forced this flight to divert to Athens where it was delayed for a short time before going on to the destination.
“This then further disrupted the return flight from Hurghada back to London because of crew duty time limitations.”
The airline said that the safety and security of those onboard is its “number one priority”.
It added: “Wizz Air has a strict policy against harassment and passenger misconduct and will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to ensure the safety and security of everyone aboard our flights.”
The airline confirmed it will be looking into legal action against the woman, who “negatively impacted” other passengers “who work hard to enjoy a trip away”.
Find Out More...