Passengers on a flight from Ukraine were left in tears after a "drunk" man groped a young woman.
Two men were arrested following the incident on a flight operated by Buzz - a subsidiary of Ryanair - from the war-torn country to Dublin via Poland.
The culprit was part of a group of four men who were all intoxicated, according to Irish senator Timmy Dooley, who was flying home from Ukraine on Tuesday evening. The group are said to have tormented women throughout the flight before two other passengers stepped in to "intervene and clobber" the attacker, the Irish Mirror reports .
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The 53-year-old Fianna Fail politician said passengers were left feeling "uncomfortable" by the men's behaviour, which also included "very sexualised language".
He described how the man had "groped a woman's backside and she was very upset".
The situation became "intense" as the two other passengers then stepped in, Mr Dooley explained.
He added: “There were women crying and women with children who may have been fleeing the war in Ukraine."
He has now called for any such disruptive passengers to be added to a watch list and face lifetime flight bans.
He said: “For characters like this there should be a lifetime ban on air travel and never be in a position to traumatise air passengers again.”
A Garda police spokeswoman confirmed that officers were called to Dublin Airport in relation to the incident and two males were arrested.
She added they were later released but "investigations are ongoing".
Mr Dooley, who had been travelling with Fianna Fail MEP Billy Kelleher and a cameraman, said cabin crew had asked the politicians to help calm the situation on board.
He went on to commend the flight attendant and staff for their "professionalism" at handling the situation "given the level of activity".
“The air steward was very discreet when they asked for assistance and we were asked to go and sit beside the men to talk to them and try and calm them down.
“I have to praise the Ryanair staff on board who were really professional and were clearly trained to the highest level of dealing with these difficult situations.”
A spokeswoman for Ryanair said: “The crew of this flight from Krakow to Dublin called ahead for Garda assistance on arrival after three passengers became disruptive inflight.
“The aircraft landed normally, and gardai removed these passengers before the remainder of the passengers safely disembarked the aircraft.”
