A Jet2 flight from Edinburgh to Cyprus was forced to turn back shortly after takeoff following reports of a disruptive passenger. Police met the aircraft on landing and arrested a 32-year-old man.
Jet2 flight LS721 from Edinburgh to Larnaca returned to Scotland around 30 minutes after departing due to the incident. Emergency services met the flight after it landed safely back in Edinburgh, and a man was removed from the aircraft by police officers.
Arrest and charges
Police Scotland confirmed that a 32-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with various alleged offences, including assault and endangering an aircraft. He is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday, September 24.
An eyewitness described the incident: "We were only in the air about half an hour when the guy kicked off... We finally made a very bumpy landing back in Edinburgh." Fire crews and airport staff were seen outside the plane after it landed before several police officers carried a person off the flight and into a van.
Airline response
Jet2 apologised to customers for the disruption to their flight and said it takes a "zero-tolerance approach" to disruptive passenger behaviour. A spokesperson for Jet2.com said: "As a family-friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behaviour, and we strongly condemn any behaviour of this nature. We will not hesitate to take appropriate action against disruptive passengers, including through the courts where necessary, and we will seek to recover the costs incurred as a result of their behaviour. We would like to apologise to all customers and our colleagues onboard who had to experience this."
Flight tracking details
Data from flight tracking app FlightRadar24 shows the Boeing 737 took off from Edinburgh before turning south on its way to Cyprus. The aircraft had barely crossed the border into England before it turned around near Newcastle.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 4.30pm on Wednesday, September 23, police received a report of a disruptive passenger on a flight that had departed from Edinburgh Airport. The flight returned to the airport and a 32-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with various offences including assault and endangering an aircraft. He is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday, September 24. Anyone with any footage which could assist our enquiries is asked to contact officers via 101, quoting incident number 2320 of Wednesday, September 23."
