Edinburgh Airport flight chaos as passenger is dragged off plane and arrested over alleged assaults

Police board flight on Edinburgh Airport runway and arrest 43-year-old male passenger

A man has been hauled off an Edinburgh flight and arrested over alleged ‘assaults', according to police.

The 43-year-old man was travelling on a Ryanair flight from Tenerife to the Scottish capital on Tuesday evening.

Flight FR 2970 was met on arrival at Edinburgh Airport, who arrested the disruptive passenger moments after the plane landed in the early hours of Wednesday.

A man has been arrested after allegedly “threatening passengers and grabbing people” on an Edinburgh-bound flight. Photo: PA

According to the Scottish Sun, the man, who was travelling with his family, became abusive towards other passengers and crew.

One passenger told the paper he was allegedly “threatening passengers and grabbing people”.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 12.50am on Wednesday, 17 April, 2024, police were called to a report of assaults onboard a plane arriving at Edinburgh Airport.

“Officers attended and a 43-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with the incident.

“A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”

The latest incident comes after brawls broke out on two recent Ryanair flights from Edinburgh Airport to Tenerife, with one of the planes being forced to divert to Portugal to remove rowdy passengers.

As reported in the Evening News, a Ryanair flight from Edinburgh Airport to Tenerife, on February 19, saw two men arrested when the flight landed.

In video footage shared online, one man, dressed in blue, and another in grey, can be seen arguing in the aisle before turning their anger towards another flyer. Staff and pilots continually plead with them to return to their seats, before a woman can be seen launching a frenzied attack on one of the men. The woman was filmed hitting the man in the grey and swearing at other passengers.

The two men both appeared to shout at anyone who tried to intervene and stop them. The video also shows the man in blue spitting on his hand as other travellers look on in disgust.

The unsavoury brawl eventually came to an end after the plane landed in Tenerife and the disruptive passengers were escorted away by local law enforcement.

Hannah MacDonald, who was onboard the flight, said the group had been drinking heavily since take off. Speaking to the Daily Record, she said: "It was just absolutely insane.” Ms MacDonald claimed that the woman continued to shout abuse for the majority of the flight and said she was acting like a "wild animal".

She added: "It took thirty minutes for the police to arrive, meanwhile we all had to stay on the flight and listen to them kick off for longer. The crew were unable to control them and the pilot stayed in his cockpit until the end.

"However as soon as the police arrived the girl piped down and started to behave like a victim that had done nothing wrong. There were all different nationalities on the flight and we were all mortified. It's people like this that give Scotland a bad name.”

Just days later, passengers travelling on another Ryanair flight from Edinburgh to Tenerife were hauled off the aircraft by police after a fight broke out and bottles were allegedly thrown.

The incident reportedly left children “terrified” and “in tears”, with one passenger describing it as the “scariest flight I've ever been on”.

The incident, which took place on February 25, forced pilots to divert the plane and make an emergency landing in Porto, Portugal. The “disruptive” passengers were met by police when the plane touched down.

One passenger took to social media after the plane touched down to explain what happened. They said it was the “scariest flight I've ever been on”, adding “big group on flight, fights broke out, bottles thrown, women almost injured. Get this little s**t off the plane… kids crying, everyone in bits…”

They added: Currently waiting for the police to take some people off the plane then hopefully get to Tenerife. Luckily everyone is okay at the moment.”

Last month, a flight from Edinburgh Airport to Tenerife was forced to make an emergency landing due to a disturbance on board.

Jet2 flight LS727 was reportedly forced to divert to Porto Santo Airport in Madeira, over 330 miles away, due to a disturbance on board, caused by a passenger.