Father and son chase plane down runway after drinking in airport bar too long: 'They ran the risk of being shot'

‘If it wasn’t so stupid it would be funny’

Two British passengers were apprehended by armed police after running down the runway to try and catch their flight.

Father and son Antonino Loi, 65, and Tony Loi, 40, were having a drink in the airport bar and didn’t notice that boarding had closed for their easyJet flight from Cagliari in Sardinia to London.

Realising their mistake, the pair forced their way out of an emergency exit, triggering an alarm, and attempted to chase after the plane.

They were pursued and detained by armed police and issued with a €2,000 (£1,770) fine each.

Although they found the incident humorous, police also stressed the dangerous nature of the men’s exploits, saying they risked “being shot”.

“If it wasn’t so stupid it would be funny – although we did all have a laugh at these two idiots,” airport police officer Mimmo Bari told The Sun.

“It was a bit like a comedy scene as they had their wheelie suitcases with them but if it had been somewhere else they ran the risk of being shot.”

Tony called the severe response “laughable”, adding that they weren’t drunk and simply made a mistake.

“I opened the wrong door, OK, but I’m not a criminal,” he said. “I wanted to get on my plane.”

EasyJet said in a statement: “We can confirm that two passengers were not allowed to travel on flight EZY3204 from Cagliari to London Stansted having arrived late to the gate.

“They were subsequently arrested by the police as a result of behaving disruptively. The safety and wellbeing of passengers, crew and ground staff is always our priority.

“Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour.”