Wild midair brawl breaks out on Jet2 flight
Passengers brawl in the aisle of a Jet2 flight, Thursday, from Turkey to the U.K. The chaotic incident reportedly prompted the plane to divert to Belgium. (Credit: Suleyman Ozgur Das via Storyful)
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Chaotic video shows the moment a midair brawl erupted between passengers on a Jet2 flight bound for the United Kingdom on Thursday, reportedly forcing the plane to make a diversion.
Flight LS896, traveling from Antalya, Turkey, to Manchester, England, was diverted to Belgium after what the airline described as the “appalling behavior” of two “disruptive” passengers onboard, representatives told the New York Post.
“They were both offloaded by police in Brussels and the flight continued to Manchester,” the representatives said.
Video circulating online appears to show passengers exchanging punches in the aisle as other travelers scream.
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Chaotic video shows the moment a midair brawl erupted between passengers on a Jet2 flight bound for the United Kingdom on Thursday, forcing the plane to make an emergency diversion. (Suleyman Ozgur Das via Storyful)
It was not immediately clear what prompted the brawl. However, an eyewitness alleged that a male passenger made “racist” remarks earlier in the flight, the Sun reported.
“From early on in the flight, a passenger seated behind us began making racist remarks, quiet enough that others couldn’t clearly hear, but loud enough for us to,” the traveler alleged.
According to the eyewitness, tensions escalated after the man — who had allegedly been drinking — was unable to purchase cigarettes onboard and became aggressive.
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An eyewitness alleged that a male passenger made “racist” remarks earlier in the flight. (Suleyman Ozgur Das via Storyful)
Cabin crew members attempted to defuse the situation, but the dispute ultimately turned physical.
After diverting to Brussels, authorities removed the two passengers from the aircraft. The flight then resumed its journey and landed in Manchester at around 10 p.m., the Post reported.
Jet2 confirmed both individuals have been placed on the airline’s no-fly list.
“We can confirm that the two disruptive passengers will be banned from flying with us for life,” Jet2 told the Post. “We will also vigorously pursue them to recover the costs that we incurred as a result of this diversion.”
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Jet2 confirmed both individuals have been placed on the airline’s no-fly list. (Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The airline added, “As a family-friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behavior, and we are very sorry that other customers and our colleagues onboard had to experience this too.”
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Jet2 did not immediately respond to Digital’s request for comment.
Digital’s Kelly McGreal contributed to this report.
