Flight To Lanzarote Forced To Make Emergency Landing After Irish Passenger Became Abusive

A flight from Belfast to Lanzarote made an emergency landing in a Portuguese airport on Saturday after a passenger allegedly became abusive on board.

The EasyJet flight took off at 12pm on Saturday, but an hour into the four-hour flight a passenger reportedly became abusive, according to the Belfast Telegraph.

It is believed that the passenger, a man from Belfast, had consumed alcohol.

The pilot of the plane decided to make an emergency landing at Francisco Sá Carneiro airport in Portugal, where the young man was detained. 

Another passenger, Seamus McAleavey, shared details of the flight on social media. 

"Belfast flight diverted to Oporto because of an abusive passenger, a young lad."

He added: "I suppose he 'enjoyed' himself at Belfast International Airport!"

EasyJet issued a statement last night, confirming that the flight had been diverted. 

The spokesman told the publication: "EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY6731 from Belfast to Lanzarote on February 17, 2018 was diverted to Oporto and was met by police on arrival due to a passenger behaving disruptively."

"EasyJet's cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all incidents and act quickly and appropriately.

He added: "After arriving in Oporto, the flight then continued on to Lanzarote."

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