EasyJet passengers were forced to watch in horror as two families broke into a physical brawl over The Karate Kid movie in the middle of the short-haul flight.
The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after the two families became embroiled in a physical altercation over a five-year-old boy watching the film on his iPad.
During a flight from Lanzarote to London Gatwick, with the pilot was forced to make the diversion to Porto, Portugal, the confrontation erupted when a woman seated four rows ahead of the child became frustrated with him watching the 2010 remake of the film.
What began as a complaint about the iPad escalated into allegations of racial abuse and physical assault at 30,000ft – culminating in the police waiting for both families upon arrival.
The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after two families became embroiled in a physical altercation (Stock)
PA
The boy’s mother claimed that her son was watching the film at a low volume.
However, the woman allegedly became aggressive and began to shout racial abuse at the child, and then the woman’s partner reportedly grabbed the boy’s disabled father by the neck.
Sources claim both families displayed aggressive behaviour towards airline crew during the incident.
The five-year-old was left “extremely scared and distressed” by the confrontation, according to his mother, who is now threatening to sue the airline.
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“This incident involved racial abuse, discrimination, and physical assault,” she told The Sun.
“My son was left extremely scared and distressed.”
She believes her family should have received support from the airline but she has insisted that her complaints over the past nine months have gone without response.
The airline has elected to ban all those involved from future flights.
After the dramatic ordeal, both families were left to make their own way home from Porto after being removed from the aircraft.
The pilot diverted the flight to land in Porto instead
GETTY
EasyJet issued a statement following the incident, saying: “Safety is our highest priority. We do not tolerate disruptive behaviour.”
The carrier has comprehensive regulations regarding passenger behaviour in its conditions of carriage rulebook.
Section 12 of these regulations states that easyJet may refuse transport or remove passengers who could cause disruption.
The airline is also free to cancel subsequent flights in a booking, deny refunds, and refuse future carriage in such cases.
This applies particularly to passengers who use “threatening, abusive, insulting, discriminatory, obscene or lewd language or behaviour” towards staff or other passengers.