Summary
- Drunken easyJet passenger arrested for attempting to open aircraft door mid-flight, brawling with crew & passengers.
- British man, 28, was intoxicated before boarding and his condition got worse throughout the flight.
- Alicante has been a hotbed for passenger incidents, primarily as a consequence of drunken British travelers.
A drunken easyJet passenger has been arrested by Spanish police after attempting to open the doors of the aircraft mid-flight. The British tourist had been causing a disturbance onboard before brawling with passengers and crew and compromising flight safety.
Drunk passenger tried to open aircraft door
The unnamed 28-year-old Brit had boarded an easyJet flight from London Gatwick (LGW) to Alicante (ALC) – as per an Informacion.es report, the passenger was said to be drunk already when he boarded the flight in London, but his inebriation got worse because the flight continued.
He allegedly began insulting and disturbing other passengers before launching a physical attack against them. The cabin crew then attempted to intervene but were also attacked.
Photo: Sonia Bonet | Shutterstock
It is alleged that in this brawl, the passenger attempted to open one in all the plane doors to get off the aircraft, being so drunk that he didn’t realize the flight was still within the air.
Other reports claim the person also attempted to “enter the cabin,” which likely refers back to the cockpit and would add one other serious charge to his actions. Eventually, passengers and crew were in a position to immobilize the passenger before it landed in Alicante.
Arrested upon arrival
The person’s dream of a sunny summer holiday in Alicante won’t be realized after he was promptly arrested by police upon arrival. The flight crew contacted Alicante control tower to tell them of a drunken passenger onboard, giving authorities time to fulfill the aircraft when it landed. Easy Flying has reached out to easyJet for comment and can update this story accordingly.
In accordance with the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency, Alicante Airport has been a hotspot for passenger incidents, recording 184 incidents in 2023 – that is second only to Tenerife (TFS), which recorded 189. The agency added that the vast majority of incidents are as a consequence of drunken British travelers.
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The airline has made significant moves within the UK market in recent times.
Data from Cirium shows that easyJet currently operates five day by day roundtrips between Gatwick and Alicante, predominantly with its Airbus A319 and A320 fleet, although the A321neo also operates a handful of weekly services. The budget carrier flies to Alicante from over 20 destinations across Europe, including 10 year-round UK airports and seasonal services from Belfast-City, Newcastle, and Southampton.
The carrier’s relaunched Newcastle-Alicante route resumed on April 2nd and can run twice weekly until the tip of October, while its once-weekly Southampton service launched just a few days earlier, on March thirty first. Having bounced back in 2023 following the pandemic, easyJet and other major European low-cost carriers are within the midst of their busiest-ever summer schedules.
Have you ever ever handled drunken tourists on a flight? Tell us your stories within the comment section.