An easyJet captain 'wrestled a disruptive passenger to the ground' seconds before a flight from Luton to Amsterdam took to the air. A drunken passenger was 'headbutting the toilet door' while the plane was taxiing to the runway before the pilot raced from the cockpit, it was claimed.
Incident on Flight EZY2511
On June 13, witnesses reported the pilot rushing to confront the person as another passenger drop-kicked the 'drunken and aggressive man'. The Airbus A319 aircraft's takeoff was aborted as ground crew scrambled to remove the screaming passenger, causing hours of delays for the other 150-plus people aboard.
Flight EZY2511 to Amsterdam was stopped and the drunken person was eventually led away by police, to cheers from the 156 passengers.
Witness Account
Speaking to The Sun, one witness said: “The guy who boarded was screaming abuse down his phone and threatening to fight passengers, before being moved to the front of the plane by the crew. As the plane began to taxi, he completely lost it. He jumped up, demanded to get off, and sprinted full-speed down the aisle to the back. He started violently head-butting the toilet door, hitting it so hard he left a dent. The captain emerged and, alongside the flight attendants, wrestled him to the floor in the back galley.”
“During the scrap, another passenger delivered a WWE-style flying drop-kick to the unruly man.” Overall, the struggle with the passenger lasted 10 minutes before the passenger was finally subdued. The flight eventually landed in Amsterdam three hours and 55 minutes behind schedule.
EasyJet Statement
EasyJet said in a statement: “A passenger on Flight EZY2511 from Luton to Amsterdam on June 13 was denied travel due to behaving disruptively on board, prior to departure. EasyJet’s cabin crew and ground staff are trained to assess all incidents and act quickly and appropriately and we do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour towards our staff. The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”
