Dramatic footage has emerged showing a ‘drunk’ Irish woman’s epic meltdown on a Ryainair plane which was then forced to make an unscheduled stop in northern Spain.
The unnamed woman and her partner were escorted off flight FR7063 from Alicante to Dublin when it landed in Santander after the passenger’s furious outburst at 35,000ft.
Video has now emerged showing her screaming ‘You’re a devil! She’s a devil!’ as cabin crew desperately tried to encourage her to calm down and take a seat.
Dramatic new footage has emerged showing a ‘drunk’ Irish woman’s epic meltdown on a Ryainair plane which was then forced to make an unscheduled stop in northern Spain
Footage has emerged showing the woman screaming ‘You’re a devil! She’s a devil!’ as cabin crew desperately tried to encourage her to calm down and take a seat
Footage captured by a fellow passenger shows her shouting, pointing towards the front of the plane and stomping her feet.
Previous footage broadcast by Spanish broadcaster Cadena Ser showed the woman being escorted off the plane arguing with a Civil Guard officer and an air stewardess before being led away with her partner.
Passengers sitting nearby – obviously frustrated at the disruption to their travel plans – could be overheard relieving their tension by shouting out: ‘See you tomorrow’, ‘Adios’ and ‘Goodbye’ as they were led away.
They broke into a spontaneous round of applause as the unnamed pair were led off the plane – with several of those on board filming the unexpected early departure amid loud laughter.
A witness told Cadena Ser: ‘A woman suddenly got up and began to shout at an air stewardess.
‘She had been drinking a lot at Alicante airport and was drunk.
‘She began to get up and shout when she was on the plane. The crew tried to calm her down but couldn’t.
Video captured by a fellow passenger shows her shouting, pointing towards the front of the plane and stomping her feet
The unnamed woman and her partner were escorted off flight FR7063 from Alicante to Dublin when it stopped in Santander after the passenger’s furious outburst 35,000ft
‘We were then told to stay in our seats and put our seatbelts on but this woman carried on shouting as if she was mad and an idiot and in the end we were informed we were landing at Santander so she could be removed.
‘When we landed she didn’t want to get off at first. She began shouting again and sticking her middle finger up before she was eventually removed from the plane.’
The Ryanair pilot made the unscheduled landing just before 4pm at Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport, named after the famous golfer who was born in the area, around an hour into the three-hour flight.
It took off again around 5pm local time after the passengers left the plane. They were not arrested, as is customary in Spain in situations of this kind.
Local reports said the man and woman, believed to be in their mid fifties, were spotted afterwards inside the airport terminal trying to buy new tickets back home.
They – or at least the unnamed Irish woman if she is deemed to be the sole offender – are now facing a fine for breaching air security after Civil Guard officers took them off the aircraft to formally identify them.
The Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA), the state body that ensures civil aviation standards are observed in all aeronautical activity in Spain, will now be tasked with deciding the size of the fine.
The woman, circled, turned around as she was escorted off the plane by Civil Guard Officers
According to a witness, the woman was ‘sticking her middle finger up’ before she was eventually removed
A spokesman for air operator AENA confirmed the Civil Guard had been asked to remove two passengers from a Ryanair flight which made an unscheduled stop at Seve Ballesteros-Santander airport, but said she couldn’t comment on their nationalities
She said: ‘Two people on the plane were acting in an inappropriate way and the Ryanair pilot decided to land in Santander after asking for police to meet them on the tarmac.
‘Normal protocol in these situations where air security is being affected is that the pilot diverts to the nearest airport and the passengers held responsible for causing the air security breach are removed from the plane, and this is what happened.
‘The aircraft touched down around 4pm on Wednesday and left again for Dublin at 5pm local time.’
Passengers frustrated by the diversion began shouting ‘See you tomorrow’, ‘Adios’ and ‘Goodbye’ as they were led away
Many on board the flight broke into a round of applause and filmed the episode on their phones
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Cantabria, the region Santander forms part of, confirmed an Irish couple had been removed from the Ryanair plane after it touched down at the airport.
He said ‘The pilot asked us to attend because he didn’t want two people who were on the plane and being aggressive to continue their journey.
‘The couple left the aircraft voluntarily after we went on board and did not have to be removed by force.
‘Their personal details were recorded and they were informed they were being reported for breaching air security.
‘They won’t face any criminal charges but are likely to receive a fine from AESA, the state body that will now move things forward.
‘I cannot comment on what happened in the plane because it wasn’t something the Civil Guard witnessed. The message from the plane was that they were being aggressive.’
The pair argued with a flight attendant and a police officer after the plane landed at Santander airport
According to a witness the woman ‘had been drinking a lot at Alicante airport and was drunk’
The Ryanair plane was one hour into a three hour flight when it was forced to divert (File picture)
Sources said they believed the unnamed Irish couple may have ended up having to take a taxi to Bilbao Airport 65 miles away, a busier airport than Seve Ballesteros-Santander, to make sure they got back to Ireland the same day.
A spokesman for Ryanair said: ‘This flight from Alicante to Dublin (10 Jan) diverted to Santander after two passengers became disruptive inflight.
‘The aircraft landed normally and the passengers were removed and detained by police upon arrival, before the aircraft continued to Dublin.
‘We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police.
‘This is exactly why we are calling for significant changes to prohibit the sale of alcohol at airports, such as a two-drink limit per passenger and no alcohol sales before 10am.
‘It’s incumbent on the airports to introduce these preventative measures to curb excessive drinking and the problems it creates, rather than allowing passengers to drink to excess before their flights.’