Holiday yobs terrorise Ryanair flight to Ibiza

[jetjockey696]

Holiday yobs terrorise Ryanair flight to Ibiza

Passengers and cabin crew were forced to endure a flight from hell when a group of 30 yobs ran riot on a Ryanair plane from Prestwick to Ibiza, reports the BBC.
The men reportedly used terrible language, threatened cabin crew and even sexually harassed crew in front of holiday-bound families with young children.

The BBC said that the men became disruptive during flight FF694 on Saturday.
They had started causing problems before the flight took off, and police even went on board at Prestwick to warn them about their behaviour. Spanish police boarded the flight when it landed in Ibiza, and it is thought that five men were removed.

But as the Ryanair flight became airborne, the drunken rampage escalated. People were shouting and jumping on seats say the press reports. Passengers were even forced to use the front toilets as the group took over the back of the plane and made it a no-go area.

One passenger Fiona Black, 58, from Ayr, said the flight was the worst she had ever been on. She told the Daily Record: "It was awful. There was one guy in particular who was singling out the stewardesses. "He was walking behind her when she was doing the drinks trolley and was pretending to have sex with her."

She added that one male flight attendant tried to defend a co-worker and "it seemed like he was going to be punched".

Ryanair's head of communications Robin Kiely told Aol Travel: "Ryanair crew operating flight FR694 requested police assistance on arrival at Ibiza airport after a group of passengers became disruptive in-flight.

"Police removed and detained a number of individuals from the aircraft before other passengers disembarked.

"Ryanair sincerely apologises to other passengers for any inconvenience caused but the safety of our passengers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for the police."


8/8/2013

[Gove N.T.]

Luckily I was not on this flight - nor would i ever choose to be on an FR flight.
HOWEVER....
I have every sympathy for the crew and passengers - such obnoxious people should be prosecuted for endangering a flight & wonder why the captain
didn't divert as I am sure the cabin crew would have told him/her.
Now that these people are in another country I would be more than happy if no carrier would accept them for their return.

[Scott C]

Surely the flight crew should have landed as soon as possible to offload the troublesome pax?

Why fly them all the way to Ibiza when they did or could have posed a risk to the safety of the flight?

[BARKINGMAD]

"They had started causing problems before the flight took off,".......................

Is that not a subtle hint to Captain Speedking that maybe they didn't belong aboard and could have been off-loaded?

Back to the gate, and even if they're not charged by the local plod, the cost of a replacement ticket will be an incentive not to do it again.

Or was Capt Speedking under company pressure to ensure on-time departure and therefore reluctant to dump this trash back into the terminal...........................:ugh:

[DaveReidUK]

Is that not a subtle hint to Captain Speedking that maybe they didn't belong aboard and could have been off-loaded?Reportedly two pax were offloaded at Prestwick before departure.

From the newspaper report:

"Trouble started even before the flight was in the air when two men were refused permission to board. Eager holidaymakers were then delayed by 30 minutes as police officers boarded the flight at the request of cabin crew to warn the group about their behaviour and offer advice and assistance to Ryanair staff."

and a further quote from one of the other passengers:

"The stewardess had said she would get them thrown off by police, so when police just left I felt that was unfair on the crew as this lot obviously then thought they could get away with anything."

Hmmm.

[Hotel Tango]

Of course we are not party to the full details, only what a newspaper writes. Now, when we consider the exaggerated rubbish they write most of the time, it's easy to jump to the wrong conclusions. I say this only because I'd like to believe that had it been as bad as made out, the Captain would have diverted and off-loaded them without fear of facing any repercussion from management - who, after all, quoted that the safety of the passengers and crew is their number 1 priority.

[Heathrow Harry]

as my dear daughter, the fragrant but acute Miss Harry would say, the answer is in the headline

"Ryanair- Prestwick - Ibiza"

a definite shortage of Nobel Prize winners one would expect

[PIK3141]

But I for one HH would rate flying Ryanair out of Prestwick as a better experience than flying BA out of Heathrow ! The former done many times without problems, the latter, well where do you start ?

[superq7]

BARKING MAD. I think your last paragraph is spot on.

[wowzz]

So PIK3141, how many times have you had a load of inebriated pax on a flight from LHR with BA ?

[mixture]

To be honest I'd probably run riot if (a) I found myself onboard a Ryanair flight and (b) I was told its destination was Ibiza. :}

[kaikohe76]

This particular incident may have already been discussed in another thread & similar events unfortunately continue to happen,as basicalyl the law (US excepted) wring their hands & do nothing.

The approach to this type of behavior will only stop it continuing. when no nonsence robust action is taken immedately.

I am very much with the US & totally support & agree with their approach to this sort of loutish behavior. Federal case, as unlawfully interferring with the lawful operation of an aircraft, or action which could endanger an aircraft. Instant no nonsence arrest, very quickly before the Court, handed down a severe custodial sentance. I somewhow don't think the US Courts, take that much interest, when the question of `Accused Rights is raised either. Bang the trash up for a good many years & throw away the key.

Can anybody see this action being taken, by authorities in the UK & unfortunately, most other countries.

[ATC Watcher]

Can you tell us what the problem is/was ?

[Whiskey Zulu]

Holiday flight horror as drunken thugs rampage on plane to Ibiza - Daily Record (http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/holiday-flight-horror-drunken-thugs-2125396#.Uf-Abtdy4C4.twitter)

[sitigeltfel]

Until four years ago I used Ryanairs early morning PIK-BVA service around twice a month, and this behaviour was fairly normal for flights going to the Costas during the summer months.
The usual suspects, wearing either Rangers or Celtic tops, would have been tanking themselves up with bevvy since the previous evening, and would continue the process in the terminal bars.
I have also seen the same thing repeated at other airports across the UK from a certain type of traveller, and on one flight I took into Alicante the aircraft had to do a go-around because drunken pax would not sit down and kept blundering towards the toilets. The cabin crew on these flights are not to be envied.
Maybe a breathalyser at the gate would weed them out!

[DaveReidUK]

This particular incident may have already been discussed in another threadCorrect.

www.pprune.org/passengers-slf-self-loading-freight/520954-holiday-yobs-terrorise-ryanair-flight-ibiza.html (http://www.pprune.org/passengers-slf-self-loading-freight/520954-holiday-yobs-terrorise-ryanair-flight-ibiza.html)

[Capetonian]

Isn't it time airport bars and restaurants stopped selling alcohol, or at least limited sales, to avoid these incidents.

There would be massive protests and some people would stop flying, but they are the type of people the airlines can do without. I feel sorry for flight crews, and for the normal passengers who can have a drink or two and remain correctly behaved, but it is not fair that this behaviour not only blights the experience but more importantly, endangers all on board.

[Sober Lark]

You have cultures, sub-cultures and local variants. An example of local variants would be the holiday yobs discussed or those who feel the airline is to blame.

Is there a legal reason an airline can't refuse a person at the gate? I ask this because I notice in the T&C of carriage they discuss conduct aboard aircraft and consequences etc. It appears the airline only have limited power once the person is actually aboard and not before.

[SLFguy]

Isn't it time airport bars and restaurants stopped selling alcohol, or at least limited sales, to avoid these incidents.

There would be massive protests and some people would stop flying, but they are the type of people the airlines can do without. I feel sorry for flight crews, and for the normal passengers who can have a drink or two and remain correctly behaved, but it is not fair that this behaviour not only blights the experience but more importantly, endangers all on board

The massive protests would not be from the passengers..

[waveskimmer]

Prestwick Plod should have removed them there and then.As usual in the UK
I suppose they were afraid of offending the scumbags human rights

[RVR800]

Yes indeed, the protests would be from the shopping mall outlets (sorry airport terminal cafe bars) selling overpriced alcohol where some bored passengers sit drinking heavily for 2 hours before their 2 hour flight - these problems of intoxication are built into the business model (it's to do with security):ugh:

[glad rag]

But I for one HH would rate flying Ryanair out of Prestwick as a better experience than flying BA out of Heathrow ! The former done many times without problems, the latter, well where do you start ?

Yep used to commute up for the weekend from the big Cott via Stansted and the big blue express buses, but that's another story.

Never had any problems on the flight at all and they ran on time, what more do you expect for £25 return?? :ok:

[A and C]

Ban it ! Control it! Shut it down ! Are the calls from the Pprune floor.

I take a different view 99.999 % of the passengers using the airport bars are not involved in any trouble whatsoever so why shut the bars and punish the majority of passengers ?

In my view it is the gate staff who need to be more careful on who they admit to the aircraft and if they have any doubts on the issue then refer it to the aircraft captain to decide.

[Eclectic]

Once flying from Edinburgh to Menorca there was a flight delay.
The contents of the flight retired to the airport bar and many pints were consumed.
Eventually we got boarded and airborne. As soon as the seat belt sign went out a queue formed the length of the aisle. People coming out of the loo just went to the back of the queue again instead of going back to their seats. This continued for the full 2ish hours of the flight, till the seat belt sign went on again.
Obviously there was no trolley service whatsoever. The aisle was too full of humans.
The whole flight was very good natured and not a single cross word was heard.

[Capetonian]

In my view it is the gate staff who need to be more careful on who they admit to the aircraft and if they have any doubts on the issue then refer it to the aircraft captain to decide.

I agree completely, but they seem to be incapable of doing this properly. The captain has more important functions than assessing whether or not a passenger is fit to travel, it should not have to escalate to that level.

I have nothing against alcohol at all but there are reasons why I would like to see its sale at airports limited.


Drunk passengers
Passengers in bars or duty free delaying flights.
Alcohol purchases brought onto aircraft, stuffed into overheads, taking up space, and falling out.
Arguments between passengers wanting to to drink duty free alcohol on board and crew telling them it's not allowed.

I have been a victim of all the above, as I'm sure most of us have.

[Heathrow Harry]

take them off and shoot them like dogs at the bottom of the aircraft stairs.... just a suggestion you understand...................

[Darth_Bovine]

Isn't it illegal to allow drunk passengers onto a commercial flight?

If it is, then I'd say it would be a tough call for the gate staff to stop individuals from boarding. But maybe the industry needs to take a harder line with this?

[8eyes]

So where was the Captain during all of this? Surely he/she should have being offering moral support to the cabin crew and refused to take the drunk passengers.

I also blame the airport bars, not for serving alcohol, but for serving alcohol to people who are plainly not fit to travel in an aircraft. At the gate, more vigilance would help in terms of spotting the culprits and then calling the police. Surely the Captain should have spoken to the police and said that he/ she was refusing to take the drunken pax.

Personally, I have a zero tolerance to these sorts of passengers. Their selfish and uncontrolled behaviour make the lives of the other pax a misery and during any potential emergency they could be incapable of taking any sensible actions directed by the cabin crew.

I have always resolutely refused to takes anyone who is drunk. Full stop. I don't care if there is a delay, they go off. Most of the time if you single out one or two and refuse to carry them, the rest will calm down a bit and be a little more sensible. In this case, it has to be the police that ejects them.

So many summmer departures to sunny climes are ruined by these idiots. It's a selfish and horrible trait. There are times, many times when I have landed in Spain or back in the UK and just felt embarrased to be British. :ugh:

[root]

Manchester police routinely show up at aircraft during the early spring months to talk to the crews about the expected wave of drunken turds that starts to arrive end of May. They do a splendid job at it too, even handing out cellphone numbers to pilots to get in touch as soon as they see this sort of situation developing during boarding.

[Ancient Mariner]

I was one of a full ships crew being shipped back to Norway via Schiphol some time '70ies. Some of us had a bit too much and were politely asked by SAS gate personel to wait for the next flight. We did, not a problem.

[Phileas Fogg]

The one trip I flew with Ryanair I was terrorised also ... Putrid coloured cabin, seat backs that didn't recline, stale sandwiches and warm beer.

[Hotel Tango]

I have no Ryanair terror stories to tell. That's because I don't fly with them, nor will I - ever! :)

[Agaricus bisporus]

Lark, the airline is at the mercy of airport and gate staff. People get too rowdy in the bar, they're moved out to the gate where they are a bit more confined, annoy less people and above all are "off our patch". Gate staff, fully aware of the rules regarding being drunk on an aeroplane try to quieten them and get them on board (without risking trouble by doing their job) and make it the crew's problem. Drunks usually know to behave on boarding, harassed crew don't/can't notice until it is too late. It's all about shoving them down the line and into someone else's territory and where they end up is on board.

Technically they're not the Captain's problem until the doors are closed but in reality it doesn't work like that.

The staff answer is 1) don't let them on board and 2) once on board remove them before flight.

Easier said than done.

[Sober Lark]

Agar, when you put it that way I can see how complicated the situation can get for all involved.

In this case would it be recorded as an incident to the IAA where in their capacity as the responsible safety regulator it can be investigated and recommendations published?

[RAT 5]

Guys; The answer is quite obvious, surely. If there is a threat to safety of the a/c or crew or pax then you remove it asap. PIK to IBZ passes over so many havens of peace & quiet with local police to ensure such. Why were they ignored? From the info on here it would seem a no brainer and a few questions from C.P to said captain about his decisions. I hope there is more to this and mitigating circumstances.
Many years ago there was such an occurrence en-route Greece UK in mid-night. The a/c landed in SPL, the yobs were in klink for the night and then left to it. Local plods thought that was enough. No airline would carry them so the ensuing difficulties and costs were deemed enough. Seems perhaps a little gentle, but they did incur costs and great inconvenience.
In this case the same action might seem the least to do, but to deliver them to their desired destination seems very generous. Best case might have been into UK cells and gain +ve publicity for RYR. An opportunity missed?

[Metro man]

In Australia, a fly-in/fly-out system operates at many mines out in the bush where workers spend three to six weeks in a camp and get flown to a major city for their time off.

After a few incidents it was agreed to time the arrival of the bus from the mine to the airport so that it arrived so close to departure time that the passengers had to go straight through to the aircraft as soon as they had checked in.

There wasn't time to get half plastered in the airport bar anymore, problem solved.;)

Be grateful to Ryanair for keeping the drunken yobs off the full service airlines. They can save 15-20 pounds on the ticket price while I will quite happily pay the extra to avoid flying with them.

[Hotel Tango]

Be grateful to Ryanair for keeping the drunken yobs off the full service airlines. They can save 15-20 pounds on the ticket price while I will quite happily pay the extra to avoid flying with them.

:ok: My sentiments exactly.

[Agaricus bisporus]

I do think that tolerating this behaviour instead of stamping hard on it is a mistake. Given the description of the behaviour I'm astonished the Captain didn't divert and dump them somewhere really inconvenient like Clermant Frerrand. I dumped some drunken Dublin sewer rats in Bristol once, they weren't at all impressed. Had to go home via ferry from liverpool I believe.

My company takes a pretty dim view of this sort of thing and we too had problems, esp when starting flights to Poland - litres of vodka being the main problem. We had a number of incidents and pressed charges which the British police at least are happy to help with and I understand the company PR/Press officer had a busy trade for a while sending newspaper reports of the arrests and subsequent convictions to local Polish newspapers. The message got through. WE have far less problems like this than we used to - and on my flights at least the miscreants get one warning - a straightforward promise of arrest on arrival unless they stop - NOW! The cabin crew appreciate it because they feel they have support as do the other pax.

If we don't act like this it frankly becomes a self-inflicted injury.

The UK courts have been gratifyingly solid in the sentences handed down too - it is worth taking a delay and making sure the Police press charges, so just do it and the problem will eventually dwindle!

Sad to note that not all airlines have banned lists though, for some reason there is a great reluctance to do this which is stupid.

[peakcrew]

I agree with the gentleman with the latin name, or "Mr Mushroom", since it is easier to type! There is no reason to accept this behaviour, and it is up to the crew to do the appropriate deed if the gate staff don't do their duty properly.

Given several incidents of what I regard as over-reaction to words like "bomb" clearly used in jest (I have been on two flights where one passenger was met by police for that offence, and the one I heard could not possibly have been taken seriously by anyone with an ounce of common sense), actual threats to the safety of passengers and crew, such as are described in the article,* should result in immediate action. Please, guys and gals in whom we put our trust (both sides of the cockpit door), don't let this happen. Planes can be stressful enough. Perhaps adopting a zero-tolerance on all pax deciding what the rules are, from not turning off electronics and reading/talking throughout the safety briefing to standing up before the seatbelt sign is off, would restore some sort of order in general. Too many people think flying is like catching a bus, and it is time to disabuse them of the notion.

I haven't flown RyanAir for some time (I used to have to for work - cheapskates wouldn't pay for AerLingus!), but the staff were always very pleasant and efficient. Many of the passengers on the other hand ... I didn't envy the folks who had to deal with them!

* I am accepting that the original article may contain ... how shall I put it? ... some hyperbole, given the source.

[Basil]

I once took a chance and permitted some inebriated guys on my flight GVA-LHR after they promised to be good. They were - phew!

[superq7]

After thirty odd years of teaching at a comprehensive school my wife only have to give them THE LOOK ps it works on me too !

[fenland787]

After thirty odd years of teaching at a comprehensive school my wife only have to give them THE LOOK ps it works on me too !

Yup, familiar with that! Perhaps they should employ ex teachers as FAs, one 'killer look' honed to perfection over the years and the stroppiest adolescent bag of raging hormones is brought to heel in an instant!... and yes - scares the C***P out of me as well!

[Basil]

superq7, Funny you should say that. Mrs Bas is a retired teacher and does 'The LOOK'. I reckon they teach it at training college :}

[radeng]

Are the Spanish police less forgiving and Spanish jails worse? Might be helpful if so to finish the flight and get the lot banged up.

[Sunnyjohn]

This is a guess but I think that the Spanish authorities are likely to overlook such incidents due to the fact that Spain needs every centimo it can get from tourism. As far as Spanish jails are concerned, I have it on good authority, although I have no personal experience you understand!, that Spanish jails are extremely comfortable and well staffed and maintained.

[radeng]

Sunnyjohn,

A Pity!

It really needs them in a good African jail........

but I'm an admitted woolly minded liberal. Guinea, is I believe, a place where jail is somewhat more than uncomfortable, so that might do for them...

if they happen to die there, it saves a lot of problems of repatriation....

[EEngr]

"One steward suggested the worst offenders faced a lifetime ban from Ryanair."

Wouldn't punishing them be more appropriate?

Okay, okay. I'll get my coat.

[slide blower]

i do not work as cc anymore for many reasons.dealing with these situations was a big part of why i decided to leave.

[crewmeal]

Is this what flying is all about these days?

BBC News - Ryanair stewardess punched in face (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-23667241)

Is that the best our laws provide for the safety of crew - a stupid caution. Why wasn't this b***h thrown in jail. It seems to me that the law is 'watering down' assaults on crew. This in my view gives thugs the green light to do what ever they want onboard an aircraft.

[peakcrew]

@crewmeal: I absolutely agree (see my earlier post). This is not only about respect for people doing a job, it is about aircraft safety. Inadequate prosecution gives the wrong message.

[superq7]

Crewmeal/peakcrew. I think Ryanair should go for a private prosecution, more or less free publicity and would deter that type of person in the future.

[peakcrew]

I absolutely agree, superq7.

[Sober Lark]

Figures I have for 2008/09.

3,529 reports of disruptive behaviour onboard UK aircraft were received by the CAA.

44 of these were 'serious', 29 caused a passenger to be restrained, and 13 resulted in an aircraft diverting (one incident involved both restraint and diversion).

73% of disruptive passengers were male, and 27% female. Incidents of disruption generally fell into one or more of the following: verbal abuse 37%; passengers disobeying cabin crew 28%; general disruptivness 28%; passenger seating, use of seat belts, or passengers refusing to be seated 18; arguments between passengers - often caused by seats being reclined 13%; mobile phone or lap top use 5%; stowage of hand luggage 3%.

7% of all incidents resulted in violence, 44% of which were directed towards cabin crew.

Alcohol was involved in 37% of all disruptive incidents, and smoking was a factor in 21% of which 95% involved smoking in a lavatory.

[Ancient Observer]

E Engr

:D:D:D