Jet2 passenger thrown off Turkey-bound plane for slapping travellers

Passengers cheer as truculent woman is escorted from the aircraft, which diverted to Vienna, Austria

Jet2 staff were praised for the calm way they handled the commotion. Reuters

A female passenger forced a Jet2 plane flying from the UK to Turkey to divert to Vienna, Austria, after she became aggressive to staff and started slapping fellow passengers.

The Jet2 flight landed in the Austrian capital at 11.40am on Monday and passengers cheered as she was escorted off the plane.

The UK lifted all its remaining travel rules last week but it is unlikely the bellicose blonde will be travelling abroad again anytime soon.

The reason for her outburst is not known.

There was speculation crying babies on the flight had upset her, but one eyewitness said she became disruptive more than an hour before the flight's departure from Manchester Airport.

"There was lots of noise," the unnamed witness told the Manchester Evening News about the woman's behaviour on board.

"Then she came to the front of the plane. She was really angry towards Jet2 staff and wouldn't calm down. Her voice was getting louder and more aggressive – she was shouting in people's faces.

"A customer said something and she slapped him in the face. Then a man got up to try to calm the situation before taking her to the back of the plane."

The incident was caught on camera and was a first for the witness, who praised the calm-and-collected behaviour of Jet2 staff.

"This is the first time we have had to land because of someone on a flight. Jet2 staff handled the whole situation very well. Nobody could help the out-of-control woman once she slapped the passenger."

The travel operator sent a text message of apology to passengers as they waited on the tarmac at Vienna Airport for further news.

In the end the plane took off again at 1pm, so the delay was a relatively minor 80 minutes.

Later Jet2 confirmed the incident in a statement to MEN.

"We can confirm that flight LS895 from Manchester to Antalya diverted to Vienna earlier today so that a disruptive passenger could be offloaded.

"As a family friendly airline, we take a zero tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour."