A plane flying to Liverpool had to return to the Spanish tourist island of Tenerife after a huge fight broke out between passengers onboard.
Roughly 10 people were involved in the brawl on an easyJet plane on Tuesday evening.
The captain made the decision to return to Spain about 30 minutes after departure due to the danger the fight posed to the safety of the flight, the air traffic controller said.
Police met flight EZY3352 when it touched down at Tenerife South airport on Tuesday evening, per the crew’s request.
The 186-passenger aircraft then continued to Liverpool.
EasyJet said the plane “returned to the airport and was met by police due to a group of passengers behaving disruptively. The flight then continued to Liverpool.”
The airline added: “Our cabin and ground crew are trained to assess all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other customers is not compromised at any time.
“We take these incidents very seriously and do not tolerate disruptive behaviour towards our staff.
“The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is always our highest priority.”
The air traffic controller said in its statement, originally written in Spanish: “Our full support goes out to the crews and passengers who are increasingly having to endure these situations.”
Adding: “The crew of the flight from Tenerife South to Liverpool, after about 30 minutes of flight, informed us that they needed to return to the airport and requested police presence upon arrival.
“A group of about 10 passengers had started a fight on board, and the captain decided to return due to the danger it posed to the safety of the flight.
“We expedited their return as much as possible while coordinating with the airport for police presence.
“They landed and cleared runway 07 without incident.”
Last month it was announced that a new government proposal could see passengers who disrupt flights banned from travelling with any airline, rather than just the one involved in the incident.
Officials at the Department for Transport and the Home Office are developing a scheme that would allow carriers to share information on unruly passengers, it is understood.
Currently in its conceptual phase, the plan would require airlines to notify the government about disruptive passengers. Should such a person attempt to check in for a subsequent flight, participating airlines would be alerted.
