A woman in her 50s has been arrested after allegedly making racist remarks and causing disruption on an EasyJet flight from Belfast to Manchester.
The incident occurred on flight EZY714, where the passenger reportedly directed racial slurs at fellow travellers and exhibited disorderly behaviour.
Police met the aircraft upon its arrival at Manchester Airport following reports of a drunk and disruptive passenger onboard the afternoon flight.
Witness Shauna Corr described the woman’s behaviour as “atrocious and racist” with derogatory comments aimed at multiple groups.
A woman in her 50s has been arrested after allegedly making racist remarks and causing disruption on an EasyJet flight from Belfast to Manchester
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“She was making very derogatory comments about people including Muslims – at one stage she even struck out at Ukrainian people,” Corr told the Manchester Evening News.
The disruption began midway through the flight, with the woman allegedly stealing crisps from a flight attendant without paying.
“When I first heard it I thought it was a kid,” Corr added. “I think the fact it was a middle aged woman shocked people.”
Footage from the incident showed passengers confronting the woman, demanding she quiet down.
A cabin crew member intervened, warning the passenger about her foul language and threatening police involvement if the behaviour continued.
“The stewards handled it really well – it was quite disgusting behaviour,” said witness Corr.
The disruptive passenger was eventually escorted off the aircraft after landing at Manchester Airport.
An easyJet spokesperson said the flight “was met by police on arrival due to a passenger behaving disruptively onboard.”
The disruptive passenger was eventually escorted off the aircraft after landing at Manchester Airport (stock image)
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“easyJet’s cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and acted quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers was not compromised at any time,” they added.
The airline stated they do not tolerate abusive behaviour, saying: “Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour onboard.”
Greater Manchester Police confirmed they were called at around 8.50pm following reports of a woman being drunk and disorderly on the Belfast to Manchester flight.
“Upon the plane returning to Manchester Airport, a woman in her 50s was arrested on suspicion of being drunk onboard an aircraft,” a police spokesperson said.
The woman was taken into custody where she remains for questioning.
