Passengers’ screaming argument forces UK flight to Turkey to divert to Serbia: Footage ‘shows unruly holidaymaker dragged off plane by police’
A flight from Manchester to Turkey was forced to divert to Serbia after an unruly passenger caused chaos on board.
SunExpress flight XQ505 took off from Manchester Airport at 19:30 on April 9, destined for Dalaman, but circled over Serbia and eventually landed in the capital Belgrade after the mid-flight disruption.
Footage snapped and shared on social media by shocked customers showed a man appearing to shout at another passenger, point the finger and shout expletives.
A woman can be heard barking back and the pair paced back and forth, the volume and aggression increasing as other passengers tried in vain to calm the situation.
It is unclear to what extent the argument escalated, but another clip, filmed when the plane was on the tarmac in Belgrade, showed how police burst into the cabin to pull one of the passengers away.
A struggle ensued and footage shows the police officers tying the unruly passenger to the floor before dragging them out the cabin door.
Footage snapped and shared on social media by shocked customers showed a man appearing to shout at another passenger, point the finger and shout expletives
SunExpress flight XQ505 took off from Manchester Airport at 19:30 on April 9, destined for Dalaman, but circled over Serbia and eventually landed in the capital Belgrade after the mid-flight disruption
Belgrade is more than 700 miles away from Dalaman and the detour causes a delay of two hours.
SunExpress said: ‘Our flight XQ505, scheduled from Manchester to Dalaman on April 9, had to divert to Belgrade due to an unruly passenger.
‘Upon arrival the passenger was removed from the aircraft by local police and the aircraft continued to Dalaman after the passenger disembarked.
“The safety and security of our passengers and crew is of the highest priority for SunExpress.”
The incident comes just days after a passenger who allegedly drank a bottle of Disaronno on a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Alicante was marched off the plane by police after forcing an emergency landing.
The diversion meant that the flight, which left the UK at 18.08 on Friday 5 April, arrived in Alicante at 23:28 local time after a 75-minute stop in Barcelona.
The journey ended up taking four hours and 20 minutes – about two hours longer than usual.
One clip, filmed about ten rows from the front of the cabin, showed how a police officer in black uniform suddenly appeared on the plane to the collective gasps of dozens of holidaymakers.
A member of the cabin crew then rushed down the aisle to point out the perpetrator, who was sitting about five rows ahead.
The male passenger stood up and advanced towards the police officer before being ejected to the cheers of his fellow passengers.
Another passenger appeared to retrieve his bag from the cabin above and followed the policeman out, prompting other customers to speculate about the reasons for the pair’s fling.
A passenger had to be escorted off a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Alicante by police after ‘drinking a bottle of Disaronno’
The diversion meant that the flight which left the UK at 18.08 Friday, arrived in Alicante at 23:28 local time after a 75-minute stop in the Catalan city.
One woman said: ‘A few too many drinks but they didn’t really do anything.’
In response, one man turned to face the camera and says: ‘All they did was drink a bottle of Disaronno,’ to which another woman replied, ‘give up… is that all they’ve done?’
Another added: ‘This is ridiculous. A flight to Alicante stopped in Barcelona because someone drank a bottle of Disaronno, nice.
‘How many police cars are there outside? Two and a riot car because two boys have drunk a bottle of Disaronno.’
Meanwhile, the man was escorted off the plane and out of sight, while two more police officers could be seen at the front of the cabin.
Ryanair’s rules state that passengers can buy duty-free alcohol at the airport before a flight, but must keep it safely in a suitable bag in the cabin during the journey.
Passengers may not drink alcohol purchased from duty-free during a flight.
Ryanair’s terms and conditions also state that the airline can refuse to carry a passenger if their ‘mental state, physical condition, attitude, behavior or appearance, including the effects of alcohol or drugs, poses a risk to them, other passengers or crew members, or any property’.
A Ryanair spokesman said: ‘This flight from Manchester to Alicante (April 5) was diverted to Barcelona due to a disruptive passenger on board.
“The passenger was removed and this flight continued to Alicante.”
MailOnline approached Greater Manchester Police for comment.