An elderly woman was booted from a Jet2 flight traveling from Manchester, UK, to Rhodes, Greece. The incident was captured in a video that has since been uploaded to TikTok. It has gained more than 25,000 comments.
In the video, the 70-something-year-old woman can be seen slapping a male flight attendant after becoming irate over him taking away her alcoholic drink.
Here’s what we know:
She allegedly first became hostile after asking for free champagne and having her request denied, as it was not part of the low-cost airline’s service. Afterward, she ordered a gin and tonic, however, the flight attendant took the drink from her when she began to behave aggressively.
The flight attendant can be seen attempting to calm the woman down and then trying unsuccessfully to restrain her flailing arms. Unable to get the passenger under control, she finally stood up and slapped him twice.
The announcement:
A spokesperson for Jet2 issued an apology to the other passengers who were inconvenienced by the incident:
“We can confirm that flight LS819 from Manchester to Rhodes was diverted to Munich Airport yesterday so that a disruptive passenger could be offloaded. We would like to apologise to customers for this unforeseen delay and any inconvenience caused,” said the spokesperson.
Further comment:
“The health and safety of our colleagues and customers remains our number one priority and, as a family friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour. We will not hesitate to vigorously pursue any costs incurred as a result of this diversion.”
Another passenger who had been traveling on the flight and observed the incident said, “She began to get aggressive so the flight attendant removed her drink. She started swearing and having violent outbursts. At one point she got up and tried to open the cabin door mid-flight.”
The aftermath:
The passenger also stated that the woman urinated on several seats.
Once the plane landed in Munich, nine police officers boarded the plane to escort the belligerent elderly passenger off the aircraft. Two hours later, the flight finally continued on to Rhodes.
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