A woman in her 50s has been arrested as a flight from Belfast landed in Manchester on Friday after she was “behaving disruptively onboard”.
The flight from Belfast City Airport to Manchester landed at around 8.50pm, with Manchester Police on the scene to arrest the woman.
Police confirmed she was arrested following reports of being “drunk and disorderly onboard” and was taken into custody.
Video footage of the situation on the flight has since emerged on social media, which appears to show flight staff engaging with the woman and warning her that police will be called.
Later in the footage police can be seen on board as the woman appears to be escorted off the plane.
One witness speaking to the Manchester Evening News alleged the woman was making “racist” comments.
“The lady involved was a few rows in front of me – I felt very sorry for the couple sat behind her and children on the flight,” Shauna Corr (44) said.
“Her language was atrocious and racist, she was making very derogatory comments about people including Muslims – at one stage she even struck out at Ukrainian people.
“She was just kicking off but I think the stewards handled it really well – it was quite disgusting behaviour.
“When I first heard it I thought it was a kid. But it escalated towards the end of the flight.
“I think the fact it was a middle-aged woman shocked people – it’s not the type of behaviour you expect from anyone let alone a middle aged woman.”
An easyJet spokesperson told the Belfast Telegraph: “Flight EZY714 from Belfast City to Manchester on 17 January was met by police on arrival due to a passenger behaving disruptively onboard.
“easyJet’s cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and acted quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers was not compromised at any time.
“Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour onboard.
“The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s priority.”
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “At around 8.50pm yesterday evening (Friday 17 January 2025), we were called to reports of a woman being drunk and disorderly onboard an aircraft flying from Belfast in Northern Ireland to Manchester Airport.
“Upon the plane returning to Manchester Airport, a woman in her 50s was arrested on suspicion of being drunk onboard an aircraft and was taken into custody where she remains for questioning.”
News Catch Up: Monday 20th January