Drunken fights on Edinburgh Airport flights putting staff and passengers at risk, says union

Union 'deeply concerned’ after two drunken brawls on recent flights out of Edinburgh

“Drink fuelled air rage” on flights is putting airline staff and passengers at risk, a union has warned.

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

A union has now expressed concern over passenger behaviour, after what they describe as a “deeply concerning” increase in air rage incidents.

Two Ryanair flights from Edinburgh Airport to Tenerife have been disrupted by unruly passengers in the past week.

Pat McIlvogue, an industrial officer with the Unite, told BBC Scotland: “The proliferation in incidents of anti-social behaviour and threats towards workers at airports and on flights is deeply concerning.

“It’s totally unacceptable that any worker has to confront threats of verbal or physical abuse, and the situation needs to be urgently addressed.”

Travel writer Simon Calder said there had been a “worrying number” of recent incidents, adding “it seems as if drink fuelled air rage is back.”

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.”

A Ryanair spokesperson said: “The crew of this flight from Edinburgh to Tenerife on February 19 called ahead for police assistance after a small number of passengers became disruptive onboard. The aircraft was met by local police upon arrival at Tenerife and these passengers were removed. This is now a matter for local police.”

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.

According to the Scottish Sun, the incident 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, reports the Daily Express. They said it was the “scariest flight I've ever been on”, adding “big group on flight, fights broke out, bottles throw, 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.”