A 21-year-old male passenger caused a two-hour delay to a Ryanair flight from Edinburgh to Alicante after being escorted off the plane by six police officers for allegedly vaping in the toilet. The incident occurred on July 3, when smoke alarms alerted the crew to the aviation offence.
Passenger Tristan James Walker, 39, captured footage of the removal. He said the flight was scheduled to depart at 9:45am but was initially delayed due to staff sickness. During the delay, an alarm sounded indicating someone was smoking in a toilet. Over six officers boarded the aircraft and removed the man, who was taken into a van without resistance.
Walker told Luxury Travel Daily: 'A young lad in a group happened to set the alarm off for apparently vaping. The pilot then came out after the air-stewardess explained what happened and then the pilot stated he would be removed from the plane. He was very calm, didn't argue or anything, no drama.'
Walker later encountered the passenger in Benidorm, who said he received a caution and was banned from Ryanair. A Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed: 'Around 7:55 am on Thursday, 3 July, 2025, we were called to an aircraft at Edinburgh Airport. Officers attended and a 21-year-old man was charged in connection with an aviation offence. A report was submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.'
A Ryanair spokesperson stated: 'The crew of this flight from Edinburgh to Alicante called ahead for police assistance prior to departure after a passenger became disruptive onboard. This passenger was offloaded before this flight continued to Alicante. Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour.'
