Thomas Cook flight from Manchester to Las Vegas is diverted to Canada

The Airbus A330 landed in city of Winnipeg, Canada, at about 11.15am local time
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed the five men have been arrested
A spokesman said the passengers were escorted off the plane wearing handcuffs

By Gerard Couzens For Tag News Media

Published: 10:46 BST, 25 March 2018 | Updated: 12:19 BST, 25 March 2018

Five British men have reportedly been arrested after a Thomas Cook flight from Manchester to Las Vegas had to divert to Winnipeg in Canada.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed to local media the men were arrested with help from the Canadian Border Services Agency for mischief and causing a disturbance.

‘Mischief’ is a more serious charge than ‘causing a disturbance’ under Canadian law and typically involves destroying or damaging property.

Five British men have reportedly been arrested after a Thomas Cook flight from Manchester to Las Vegas had to divert to Winnipeg in Canada (pictured: Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport where the plane was forced to land)

A spokesman told the Winnipeg Sun: ‘None of the males resisted officers and all were escorted off the plane in handcuffs without incident.’

The plane, an Airbus A330, landed in Winnipeg around 11.15am local time on Saturday morning and departed for Las Vegas just over two hours later.

A Thomas Cook Airlines spokesman said: ‘Flight MT2924 from Manchester to Las Vegas on Saturday was diverted to Winnipeg in Canada as result of disruptive passengers.

‘Five passengers were offloaded in Winnipeg. Our flight then continued to Las Vegas with a delay of 2 hours 40 minutes.’

The spokesman said the airline did not fly from Winnipeg so there was no way they would be able to return to the UK with Thomas Cook Airlines from there.

He added: ‘It’s a police matter now so I can’t go into any more detail.’

Pictured is an Airbus A330 plane similar to the one the men had been travelling in before they were escorted off in handcuffs

The Thomas Cook flight 2924 eventually arrived in Las Vegas more than two and a half hours behind schedule.

The incident was initially described by a spokesman at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport as a medical emergency – but the airline told local media the situation was not a medical issue.

There were no reports of any injuries.

The five men said to have been hauled off the plane have not been named.