A Ryanair flight from Porto to Dublin was forced to turn back after a passenger handed cabin crew multiple sheets of paper shortly after takeoff. The aircraft later resumed its journey to the Irish capital.
Passenger hands papers to crew
Flight FR7073 departed Porto Airport at 10.25pm on Tuesday evening. A 48-year-old passenger told a cabin crew member she was being pursued by three individuals and asked that the documents outlining her concerns be delivered to the captain.
The passenger was escorted from the Boeing 737 after it returned to Porto and was identified by local officials. A Ryanair spokesperson said the aircraft returned "due to a false security report", which was "quickly resolved", and the service subsequently continued to Dublin.
Aircraft returns and resumes journey
The aircraft took off again just before 1.30am on Wednesday, landing in Dublin at approximately 3.15am, around two and a half hours behind schedule. Portuguese publication Correio da Manha reported that the passenger returned to the aircraft after being identified by officials, "without police verifying her allegations".
Other Portuguese media sources suggested the traveller prompted the return through "disorderly behaviour" and reported she was accompanied from the terminal by police officers. They also claimed the pilot transmitted squawk code 7500 before reversing course, a code used to discreetly indicate unlawful interference such as a hijacking or cockpit intrusion.
Expert comments on security code
Former TAP Air Portugal pilot Jose Correia Guedes wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Upon passing FL120, the captain entered code 7500 into the transponder, signalling an attempted hijacking or intrusion into the cockpit." He added that the crew requested radar vectors to return to the airport and asked for authorities to be notified, and that the B737 landed without problems at Porto near midnight, with PSP police taking charge.
Guedes noted that entering code 7500 triggers an alarm on air traffic controllers' panels, followed by confirmation in case of mistaken entry, and notification to authorities and emergency services. He said he could not confirm whether there was an attempted hijacking or just a misbehaving passenger, but concluded: "In either case, the aforementioned passenger now has a big problem to deal with."
