A Ryanair flight was forced to turn back to Manchester Airport after a passenger tried to ‘open an emergency exit’ mid-air.
Fellow passengers attempted to stop the woman and alerted cabin crew, who then brought in the flight’s captain, according to a passenger on the plane.
The woman was removed from her seat by the emergency exit, and the captain of the plane reportedly stood guard near the door.
After landing, the woman was rushed off the plane by Greater Manchester Police, and engineers came onboard to inspect damage and replace parts.
The flight is now back in the air after restarting its journey from Manchester to Agadir in Morocco.
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The grounding happened around 10.09 am, according to FlightRadar 24, and a passenger onboard told MEN: ‘She was only able to get the plastic covering off and as a result was unsuccessful, as other passengers stopped her and made cabin crew aware of the situation at 9.30 am, who then made the captain aware.’
The flight, RUK1266, then restarted its journey at 11:22 am and is currently around an hour and a half into its journey of just under four hours, according to FlightAware data.
Ryanair told Metro in a statement: ‘This flight from Manchester to Agadir (25 Aug) diverted back to Manchester shortly after takeoff after a passenger became disruptive onboard.
‘Crew called ahead for police assistance, who met the aircraft upon landing at Manchester Airport and offloaded this passenger before this flight continued to Agadir.
‘Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour, ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a safe and respectful environment, without unnecessary disruption.’
Metro has contacted Greater Manchester Police and Manchester Airport for further information.
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