Alex Trelinski
THREE Dutch travellers overpowered a drunk Spaniard who tried to open the emergency door on a Vueling flight from Alicante-Elche airport to Schipol, Amsterdam last week.
They knocked him to the ground and tied him up in the back row with a seat belt.
The plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Paris where the intoxicated Spaniard was arrested.
One of the passengers, Miranda Geurtsen, told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that the unruly traveller was noticeable straight-away because he brought a large bottle of the strong Jagermeister liquor on board.
Around 90 minutes into the flight he started arguing with cabin crew members.
According to Geurtsen, the seatbelt light was on at this time: “The Spanish traveller was very annoying and kept getting up and did not listen.”
“He harassed women and was clearly very drunk but was allowed to go to the toilet, but only on condition that the door remained open.”
After his loo visit, the man tried to open the emergency door leading the three Dutch nationals to restrain him.
Following the unplanned landing in Paris, French police arrested the Spaniard, but there was a long delay as the Dutch men that restrained him had to give statements to officers.
The plane eventually landed at Schiphol Airport three hours late, where the passengers were unable to pick up any hold luggage because baggage handlers had finished their shift.
A Vueling spokesperson apologised for ‘the inconvenience caused by the traveller’.
“We always prioritise the safety and well-being of all people on board and do not tolerate any behaviour that could endanger our customers or our staff, which is why the correct protocols were followed.”
In another incident, an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Gran Canaria had an unscheduled stop on Saturday in northern Spain so that police could remove an unruly passenger.
No further details were given except that the plane landed at Galicia’s Santiago airport and the person of undisclosed nationality removed.
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