An EasyJet flight from Manchester to Marrakech was forced to divert to Lisbon after a passenger allegedly attacked cabin crew and used racist language. Witnesses described the man as 'legless' before boarding and said he continued drinking alcohol brought by other passengers.
The flight, carrying around 200 passengers, was met by emergency services upon landing in Portugal. Passengers were bussed to hotels and forced to spend the night before continuing their journey to Morocco.
One passenger said: 'I have never seen anything like this. The cabin crew said a passenger had got hold of his neck twice because he was drunk. He was being racist to other passengers too.'
EasyJet confirmed the diversion on Saturday and said the aircraft was met by police. A spokeswoman said the airline takes such incidents seriously and always pushes for prosecution. Affected passengers were provided with hotel accommodation and refreshment vouchers.
It is not yet known if the man was arrested.
