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‘I’ll slap you around’: Angry passengers square up to each other and shout abuse on Ryanair flight

Longest flight of my life,’ says traveller

Helen Coffey
Thursday 20 February 2020 13:03 GMT
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Passengers shout abuse at Ryanair cabin crew mid-flight

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A passenger onboard a Ryanair flight shouted “I’ll slap you around” as several travellers squared up to each other midway through the three-hour journey.

A fellow passenger called the London-Malaga service the “longest flight of my life” after several passengers allegedly got drunk and started shouting abuse at cabin crew.

Passenger Sakib Ahmed shared video and described his experience of the 7 February flight on social media.

Tensions started to rise after a four-hour delay to the flight due to air-traffic control strikes.

“It kicked off every 30 mins in the flight after a four hour delay already it was a three hour flight but I felt like a direct flight from London to Australia,” tweeted Mr Ahmed.

“The three passengers that were intoxicated kept swearing and shouting abuse to the air hostess.

“Another passenger got angry and kept shouting at them and there were back and forth throughout the flight.

“Longest flight of my life.”

The video shows several passengers standing up, with one man squaring up to another and shouting “I’ll slap you around” while a woman holds him back, saying: “You’re better than this.”

The Independent has contact Ryanair for comment.

It’s far from the first incident of air rage.

Emma Langford, 47, was on a British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Cape Town on 6 December 2018 when she “chased” and “grabbed” staff, telling one, “your arse is massive”, before smashing a tray of plates and glasses, Ealing Magistrates Court heard last year.

Langford, from Old Basing, Hampshire, pleaded guilty to three charges of assault, criminal damage, being drunk on an aircraft and behaving in a threatening, abusive, insulting and disorderly manner towards cabin crew.

“She kicked me in the back of the legs and said ‘your arse is massive’,” claimed one of the flight attendants, whose statement was read out to the court.

“She called me chubby and fat arse. It was massively offensive and hurt my confidence. I felt humiliated in front of the whole cabin.”

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