EasyJet take-off disrupted by brawling drunk passengers

EasyJet flight EZY1919 from Manchester to Alicante, Spain faced multiple disruptions on Thursday. The afternoon flight was scheduled to fly from Manchester Airport at 4:10 pm. However, the flight faced a three-hour delay as it was forced to return to the stand twice. Both times, the flight had to turn back from the runway due to threatening behaviour from inebriated passengers. Greater Manchester Police had to board the aircraft to remove the offending passengers.

Some passengers on the flight had reportedly been drinking alcohol which they had brought with them. After getting drunk, a group of passengers started behaving aggressively and thereby threatening the safety of the other passengers. The flight was forced to return from the runway so that the offenders could be apprehended. The police successfully removed the miscreants before the flight tried to take off again.

However, another group of passengers started a fresh scuffle onboard the already delayed flight. This forced the flight to turn back one more time. Greater Manchester Police officers again swept the aircraft to apprehend the new offenders.

Due to the flight being forced to turn back twice, it was delayed by three hours. Following the two incidents, the flight was able to successfully take off on the third attempt. It reached Alicante airport without any further disruptive incidents.

Manchester Evening News reported that the airline acknowledged the incident. An EasyJet spokesperson confirmed that: "We can confirm that the flight EZY1919 from Manchester to Alicante returned to stand on two occasions as a result of two separate groups of passengers onboard behaving disruptively."

The spokesperson confirmed that the incident occurred due to the passengers being drunk on alcohol they had been carrying. The involvement of the police was also confirmed. Priority given to passenger safety was mentioned by the spokesperson. Ensuring that the situation was under control, they stated: "EasyJet's cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate 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."