Passengers’ argument forces UK flight to Turkey to divert to Serbia
A flight from Manchester to Turkey was forced to divert to Serbia after an unruly passenger caused chaos on board.
SunExpress flight XQ505 took off from Manchester Airport at 7:30pm on April 9 destined for Dalaman, but circled over Serbia and ultimately landed in the capital Belgrade following the mid-flight disturbance.
Footage snapped and shared on social media by shocked customers showed how one man appeared to yell at another passenger, pointing his finger and shouting expletives.
A woman can be heard barking back and the pair went back and forth, with the volume and aggression increasing as other passengers tried in vain to calm the situation.
It is unclear to what extent the argument escalated but another clip filmed once the plane was on the tarmac in Belgrade showed how police burst into the cabin to haul one of the passengers away.
A struggle ensued and footage shows how the police officers bundled the unruly passenger to the floor before dragging them out of the cabin door.
Belgrade is more than 700 miles away from Dalaman, with the detour causing a two-hour delay.
SunExpress said: ‘Our flight XQ505, which was scheduled from Manchester to Dalaman on April 9, had to divert to Belgrade due to an unruly passenger.
‘Upon arrival, the passenger was removed from the aircraft by local police and the aircraft continued to Dalaman after the passenger’s disembarkation.
‘The safety and security of our passengers and crew is of the highest priority to SunExpress.’
The incident comes just days after a passenger who reportedly drank a bottle of Disaronno on a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Alicante was marched off the plane by police having forced an emergency landing.
The diversion meant the flight, which left the UK at 6:08pm on Friday, April 5, arrived in Alicante at 11:28pm local time after a 75-minute stop in Barcelona.
The journey ended up taking four hours and 20 minutes – around two hours longer than normal.
A clip, filmed about ten rows from the front of the cabin, showed how a police officer in black uniform suddenly appeared on the plane to the collective gasps of dozens of holidaymakers.
A member of the cabin crew then rushed down the aisle to point out the offender, seated about five rows ahead.
The male passenger got up and shuffled towards the police officer before being ejected to the cheers of his fellow passengers.
Another passenger then appeared to get his bag from the overhead compartment and followed the policeman out, causing other customers to speculate about the reasons for the pair’s ejection.
One woman said: ‘A few too many drinks but they didn’t do really anything.’
In response, a man turned around to face the camera and says: ‘All they did was drink a bottle of Disaronno,’ to which another woman replied, ‘give over…is that all they’ve done?’
Another added: ‘This is ridiculous. A flight to Alicante stopped in Barcelona because someone drank a bottle of Disaronno, lovely.
‘How many police cars are outside? Two and a riot van because two lads have drunk a bottle of Disaronno.’
In the meantime, the man was escorted off the aircraft and out of sight, while two more police officers could be seen at the front of the cabin.
Ryanair’s rules state that passengers may buy duty-free alcohol at the airport before a flight but they must store it safely in a suitable bag in the cabin during the trip.
Passengers are not allowed to drink alcohol bought from duty-free during a flight.
Ryanair’s terms and conditions also say the airline may refuse to carry a passenger if their ‘mental state, physical state, attitude, behaviour or appearance, including the effects of alcohol or drugs, presents a risk to them, other passengers or crew members, or any property’.
A spokesperson from Ryanair said: ‘This flight from Manchester to Alicante (5 Apr) diverted to Barcelona due a disruptive passenger onboard.
‘The passenger was removed, and this flight continued to Alicante.’
MailOnline approached Greater Manchester Police for comment.
