Armed police chased British holidaymaker and his son down airport runway as they raced to try and catch departing easyJet flight they missed while drinking in the bar
- Antonino Loi, 65, and DJ Tony Loi, 40, were held at gunpoint at Cagliari airport
- The pair broke an emergency exit door as they chased plane for London Stansted
- Father and son are being fined £2000 for the damage caused during the fiasco
A British holidaymaker and his son were chased down an airport runway by armed police as they tried to catch a flight they missed while drinking in the bar.
Antonino Loi, 65, and Tony Loi, 40, broke a door at Cagliari airport, Sardinia, as they raced towards the departing easyJet plane bound for London Stansted.
Father and son were held at gunpoint by Italian police after an alarm sounded when they forced open the emergency exit after being told it was too late to board, The Sun reports.
Tony Loi, 40, and his father broke a door the airport in Sardinia as they raced towards the departing plane bound for London Standsted
Both men were drinking in the departures lounge when they realised it was ‘last call’ for their flight. They have now been fined £2000 for the damage caused.
Tony Loi, who lives in London, told the publication: ‘My dad saw an easyJet plane outside and then saw that boarding was shut.
‘I ran downstairs towards the plane, I thought the stairs to the plane were still there, so I basically exited a door that put an alarm off.’
Mr Loi, who was due to fly on Tuesday, insisted they weren’t ‘drunk’ or ‘criminals’ and just wanted to catch the plane when they saw police chasing them.
The pair raced down the airport runway at Cagliari airport in Sardinia as they tried to catch the flight
Father and son were held at gunpoint by Italian police after they forced open an emergency exit
He said: ‘To be honest, I actually thought the police officer was going to radio the plane and tell them to make an exception and let us off but, it was the opposite, a different case altogether.’
Mr Loi, who is a DJ, said his father got ‘stressed out’ and ‘cross’ at the police officer, telling him: ‘What are you doing? I want to catch this plane’.
Following the fiasco, the pair were taken to a small room for an hour where they were told they would be fined.
Airport police officer Mimmo Bari told the publication the pair were like a ‘comedy scene’ as they wheeled their suitcases along the tarmac, but said if it had been in a stricter country ‘they ran the risk of being shot.’
They have now been fined £2000 for the damage caused while running for the easyJet plane
Following the fiasco, the pair were taken to a small room for an hour where they were told they would be fined
In a statement easyJet said: ‘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.’
Mr Loi, who was due to fly on Tuesday, insisted they weren’t ‘drunk’ or ‘criminals’ and just wanted to catch the plane when they saw police chasing them