Ryanair passengers have vented their fury after enduring a ‘horrific’ flight to Ibiza, where a drunken group blasted loud music for the entire three-hour journey, banged on the ceiling, and harassed a young woman.
Footage emerged of the drunken louts causing chaos on the flight, in which the 70-strong group are seen swigging from vodka bottles.
But while the mile-high boozing may have been fun for those involved in the party, the incident left a furious older Scottish couple cowering in their seats.
The couple have now hit out at Ryanair for failing to control the troublemakers, and for a ‘copy and paste’ response to their formal complaint – a month after receiving it.
Pictured: Footage of the drunken louts causing chaos on the flight, in which the 70-strong group are seen swigging from vodka bottles (left) and causing chaos
The married duo from North Lanarkshire were excited for a relaxing break when they boarded the plane at Edinburgh Airport on September 25, but were instead subjected to a ‘horrific’ three hours of travel.
Video has emerged showing the rowdy group of passengers partying in the aisle as they blasted loud music from a boombox while swigging from a bottle of vodka.
One of the passengers is seen lifting the boombox above their head. Others are seen dancing around two flight attendants in the aisle, who are working the trolley, serving drinks and food to other customers.
The 55-year-old woman told how her husband, 58, who has a heart condition, was accosted on the way back from the bathroom by a boozed-up youth, who hit his hand before making a rude gesture.
Other passengers on the Ryanair flight were also allegedly subjected to verbal abuse and harassment by members of the group of around 70.
Airline staff on-board were unable to calm the situation down, the mother said, and in one instance, one female passenger had to forcible shove a young man away from her after he refused to leave her alone.
The woman filed a formal complaint with the airline over the incident upon their return from holiday, but has branded Ryanair a ‘joke’ after the couple recieved a ‘copy and paste’ reply – a month later – on November 26. She said the airline took ‘no responsibility and gave no assurances that it wouldn’t happen again’.
‘There was no control over that plane at all,’ she said. ‘It was horrific from the minute we got on. There were about 70 of them who all came from the same area.
‘They had a big black speaker at the highest volume you could get which was blaring for three hours. They were banging on the roof, taking their tops off, and opening their drink that they had bought at duty free.
‘The only time Ryanair came near them was to serve them more drink. I didn’t even want to go to the toilet because they were getting drunker and drunker,’ she added.
The married duo from North Lanarkshire were excited for a relaxing break in Ibiza when they boarded the plane at Edinburgh Airport on September 25, but were instead subjected to a ‘horrific’ three hours of travel. Pictured: A beach in Ibiza (file photo)
When her husband went to the toilets, she said, ‘this guy hit my husband’s hand as if to do a high five but then gave him the fingers. The other passengers were getting really annoyed at this behaviour and it could have erupted into a full blown war.’
The mother claimed that one female passenger had to forcibly shove a young man away from her after he refused to leave her alone.
And the chaos continued as the plane prepared to land amid bad weather on the Balearic island. The stressed traveller added: ‘When we went to land, there was a storm which was bad enough. The air hostess was shouting over the speaker to sit down or the plane wasn’t going to land because they were all still standing up.
‘There were no police waiting for them at the airport. I understand that they were happy and excited about going on their holiday. I’ve flown to Ibiza for the last 16 years to the same wee place. I’ve seen a bit of partying on the flights before but nothing like this.
‘It could have been an absolute riot because they were banging into people, shouting in peoples faces. There could have been a war on that plane.
‘People were scared to go to the toilet but they were scared they were going to get head butted or hit with a bottle of Grey Goose that was flying about that they had bought at duty free.
‘It was a horrible experience. I get that you’ve got to expect a bit of partying and I understand that. But my husband and I have had a tough year with lots of sad things happening so we thought we’d go away and chill out.
‘We got off the flight and were like “Oh my God, we need a drink”. I’ve got a boy at 22. If I thought he was behaving like that on a plane with children and a mixed age group, I would be so embarrassed about it because it was horrific.’
The couple have vowed never to fly with Ryanair again after the airline took a month to reply to their complaint and simply apologised for ‘any inconvenience caused’.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: ‘A group of passengers on this flight from Edinburgh to Ibiza became disruptive mid-flight.
‘To diffuse the situation and minimise any disruption to passengers, crew made several announcements throughout the flight and refused to serve more than two alcoholic drinks to each passenger.
‘Passengers ceased their disruptive behaviour before landing safely in Ibiza.’
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