Marrakech-bound easyJet flight diverted to Lisbon after 'drunk man attacks cabin crew'

An easyJet flight from Manchester to Marrakech was forced to divert to Lisbon when a drunk passenger allegedly attacked cabin crew and had to be escorted off the plane.

The passenger reportedly consumed alcohol before and during the flight and left his fellow travellers shocked, the Manchester Evening News reported.

"I have never seen anything like this," one passenger who asked not to be named told the Evening News. "This passenger appeared to be legless before he boarded the plane and was given a drink by other passengers consuming their own alcohol.

"We were only an hour from Marrakech when we could see the plane descending," the passenger continued. "Then the captain spoke and said there had been an incident. Then one of the cabin crew said a passenger had got hold of his neck twice because he was drunk."

According to the passenger, the cabin crew said the drunk man was being racist towards other passengers. "We landed and police came on the plane and then we were told we'd have to spend the night there. Around 200 passengers were then bussed to hotels - one of which was an hour away."

The Evening News reported that flight EZ1891 was met by emergency services after touching down in Lisbon. Passengers were forced to spend a night in a hotel before continuing on to Morocco.

The passenger added: "The whole experience was awful. The amount of noise coming from the drunken people felt like we were going to Ibiza or somewhere like that - not what you'd expect on a place to Marrakech."

Fellow passenger Hanif Pankhania tweeted a video of the emergency services in Portugal, writing: "Well played @easyJet for letting p****d passengers on a flight that racially abuse cabin members and disrupting people's hols to Marrakech."

According to the Evening News, the delay also affected the scheduled return flight.

An easyJet spokeswoman confirmed the flight had been diverted to Lisbon Saturday (16 September) due to an unruly passenger. "The aircraft was met by the police upon arrival," she said.

The spokeswoman said the flight crew are trained to "assess and evaluate" all situations and act quickly to ensure the safety of the flight and passengers. "Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously, do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour on board and always push for prosecution. The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always easyJet's priority."

She added: "We would like to thank the passengers for their understanding and apologise sincerely for any inconvenience experienced."