Geneva: Woman 'Thrown to the Ground and Handcuffed' over EasyJet Handbag Dispute

An Italian woman has been arrested at Geneva airport after she argued with an EasyJet staff member over her handbag.

Luciana Bisignani, 48, was about to board an EasyJet flight from Geneva to Venice on Sunday, when she was asked to put her handbag inside her suitcase.

As she failed to do so, a steward allegedly stopped her from boarding.

According to Bisignani, the air steward then tore her identity card, while police threw her to the ground and handcuffed her.

"Treated like a criminal, handcuffed and taken to a cell, only for not managing to put my handbag inside a suitcase," she said to Italian newspaper Il Mattino.

Bisignani said she spent two hours in a cell and was released around 9pm. Police officers did not apologise for how she was treated, she added.

"After spending the night at the airport, I had to buy another ticket to go back to Venice."

According to an EasyJet statement sent to The Local newspaper, "A passenger behaved in a disruptive way and so was met by the police at Geneva airport.

"EasyJet's cabin crew and ground staff are trained to assess and evaluate all incidents and act quickly and appropriately.

"EasyJet takes all incidents of disruptive behaviour on board very seriously. The safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is EasyJet's highest priority. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to fellow passengers," the airline said.