A woman was ‘restrained by cabin crew’ after attempting to open an emergency exit door mid-flight on a flight from Manchester Airport.
The passenger, who was later arrested by police, forced the flight from Manchester to Agadir, Morocco to turn back.
The plane was diverted back to Manchester on Monday morning (August 25), shortly after take-off.
A passenger video shows officers from Greater Manchester Police removing items from overhead lockers.
“Her disruptive behaviour led to her being restrained by crew, and the flight was forced to return to Manchester so she could be removed,” a force spokesperson added.
“Disruptive behaviour on board any flight is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Officers will always take action to ensure the safety of passengers and crew.”
The footage shows the woman being removed by officers shortly after the plane landed.
Other passengers watched as the incident caused delays to those travelling to Morocco.
“She was only able to get the plastic covering off and as a result was unsuccessful, as other passengers stopped her and made cabin crew aware of the situation at 9.30am, who then made the captain aware.”
“The passenger was moved from the emergency exit seat and the captain remained at the emergency exit until we landed back at Manchester Airport.”
A Ryanair spokesperson provided further detail about the incident.
“This flight from Manchester to Agadir (25 Aug) diverted to back to Manchester shortly after take-off after a passenger became disruptive onboard.
Crew called ahead for police assistance, who met the aircraft upon landing at Manchester Airport and offloaded this passenger before this flight continued to Agadir.
Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour, ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a safe and respectful environment, without unnecessary disruption.”