Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Woman removed from easyJet flight amid claims she refused to wear mask and shouted ‘everybody dies’ at crew

Warning: Video contains offensive language

Kate Ng
Tuesday 20 October 2020 17:21 BST
Comments
(Noel Smith/Facebook)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Cabin crew on an easyJet flight from Belfast to Edinburgh removed a woman from the aircraft amid claims she refused to wear a face mask and shouted “everybody dies” at the crew.

Footage of the incident, which took place on Sunday at Belfast International Airport, has been widely shared on social media.

A woman with a Scottish accent can be seen in the video shouting “f*** off” and “everybody dies, you know that?” as she angrily grabs her bag and jacket from a seat and storms down the aisle with cabin crew ushering her off the plane.

She apparently pretends to cough on passengers on her way to the exit.

A spokesperson for easyJet said the airline confirmed police were following an incident on flight EZY481, which involved “a passenger behaving disruptively onboard and refusing to wear their face covering”.

“In line with EASA guidelines, all passengers are currently required to bring their own face covering for their flight which must be worn during boarding and onboard, except when eating or drinking,” said the spokesperson.

“Passengers receive clear communications before they travel and via announcements onboard to ensure they are aware of this requirement for the health and safety of everyone onboard.

“We will not tolerate disruptive behaviour towards other passengers and crew.”

A spokesperson for Belfast International Airport said: “Airport police were called by ground staff due to a disruptive passenger within the terminal building at approximately 4.35pm on Sunday October 18.

“The passenger was subsequently arrested and is currently under investigation.”

The staff onboard the plane received praise on social media for handling the incident, with some people calling for the woman to be prosecuted for allegedly coughing deliberately at the other passengers.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in