Two easyJet passengers were arrested on arrival in Lyon, France on Wednesday following “disruptive behaviour” on a flight from Belfast.
The duo had boarded flight U26735 at 10.30am, en route to Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport, with fellow passengers telling Belfast Media that they were Rangers fans travelling to attend a match against Olympique Lyonnais in the French city.
Customers on the flight told reporters that the football fans had been drinking their own alcohol, singing and shouting loudly, with cabin crew warning them their behaviour was unacceptable.
On landing, two French police officials boarded the plane to remove the two flyers.
One passenger tried to film the incident but a friend or fellow sports fan stood in the plane aisle to block their view.
An easyJet spokesperson told Belfast Media: “We can confirm that police met flight EZY6735 from Belfast to Lyon yesterday on arrival and arrested two passengers who were behaving disruptively onboard.
“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 passengers is not compromised at any time.
“Whilst such incidents are rare, we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour towards our staff.
“The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always our highest priority.”
Incidents of unruly passengers rose dramatically during the pandemic and have not settled back to normal levels.
In last month’s edition of its Airlines magazine, the aviation body Iata reported that the rate of unruly passenger incidents had doubled in 2020 compared to previous years, and confirmed that the trend has continued into 2021.
In an informal survey of Iata’s Cabin Operations Safety Technical Group, the association found that one member airline had recorded more than 1,000 incidents of non-compliance in a single week, while another had calculated a 55 per cent increase in unruly passenger incidents based on the number of travellers carried.
In the US, incidents have spiked so much that some airlines, such as Southwest and American Airlines, have suspended serving alcohol on their flights.
