In reply to INVALID DELETE's request to KATIE to expand on her comments.
I too was a passenger on this flight and was amazed as every other passenger must have been to read the account of events in several naitonal newspapers on Sunday.
Katie was right when she said that the crew were aware of problem passengers, because a member of the crew announced over the tannoy before we took off that staff from the airport had informed them of problem passengers and the pilot had no problem with diverting the flight and removing them from the plane if they continued to cause trouble.
The first group of trouble makers (from what I could see sat next to the emergency exit near the middle of the plane) was a group of about four or five lads sat near the front who kep pressing the button to call the cabin crewe, and continued to press the button constantly until a member of the crewe arrived. The were obviously just doing this to be a nuisance because each time a member of the crewe arrived they would have a two or three word conversation and then walk away only for the brain dead idiots to then start pressing the button again when the cabin crewe were out of site!
this was not only annoying the cabin crewe believe me.
I am not sure if the above passengers were threatening towards the crewe but I can only assume that they were due to the reaction of the crewe when we landed at Gatwick.
as fas as I could see the guys at the front were the only trouble makers until it was announced that wer were to land early to re-fule.
At this point a group of girls (I think from the Bradford area listing to their accents) started to complain loudly. One in particular made a lot of fuss and in the same fashion as the lads at the front began to ring the bell to call the cabin crewe. When the member of the crewe arrived he listened to he complaint and then started to try and explain the problem. The girl continued to complain and within minutes the member of the cabin crewe seemed to lose his temper and stom to the fron of the plane. As Katie mentioned in her message he then returned and invited her to the front of the plane. I watched her being interested to see what happend next and I can say for definate that she DID NOT try to break into the cock pit. She spoke to the men who seemed to be the head of the cabin crew and then returned to her seat (still complaining!?!?)
Not much longer after that we landed at Gatwick and the armed police boarded the plane, at this point the crewe got off and dissapeared!
we were then kept on the plane for almost an hour without being told anything (except rhumors that kept passing up and down the plane between passengers about a coach jopurney home) befor being taken under armed guard into a holding area in Gatwick.
Four hours and a short police interview each later we were hearded onto coaches at midnight and began our 6 and a half hour coach journey home.
You may be interested to know that when the crewe and captian announced that we were landing to re-fuel they said that it was due to the fact that we had not taken on enough fule in Cyprus and we were carrying a larger than normal amount of baggage (No mention of head winds!).
Also while waiting to be inteviewed by the police with the rest of the passengers I spoke to a member of the security staff at Gatwick. He told me that when we landed the crewe told the police that there were about fifteen problem passengers on the plane but they could not pick them out and then left leaving the police with a plane full of passengers wondering what to do.
As for reports in the papers of them swaping seats and changing clothes it didn't happen and the trouble makers were picked out as we were being interviewed by the police.
I agree that the idiots who cause trouble like that on planes should be banned from flying (and a jail term might not do tham any harm as well).
However I was disgusted with the was that the crewe handled the situation and the way that we were treated by them.
The police and ground crewe at Gatwick were tremendous considdereing the situation that they were put in.
My appologies for the length of this message but I wanted the tru story to come out, No can throwing, No breaking doors down, just a few d***k heads who needed more that a good tellin off and a cabin crewe who need to lean how to treat people.
PS. I dont know anything about planes but I was sat next to the emergency exit door on the plane and there were a few small cracks in the door. During the flight ice formed around these cracks. Is that safe?
Thanks for patiently reading
an annoyed passenger of the flight