Dramatic footage captured the moment a violent brawl broke out on a Jet2 flight from Antalya, Turkey, to Manchester after a fight broke out forcing an emergency landing in Brussels
More details have emerged after shocking footage captured the moment a brutal mid-air brawl erupted during a commercial flight. The altercation took place aboard a Jet2 service travelling from Antalya, Turkey, to Manchester.
Two passengers allegedly hurled repeated racist slurs throughout the journey. One traveller, who wished to stay anonymous, alleged he was branded a “Muslim mug” by one of the perpetrators.
Video footage captures the appalling moment when hostilities boiled over, with multiple passengers getting embroiled in the scuffle. Cabin crew frantically attempted to calm the chaos before the aircraft was forced to divert to Brussels, Belgium, where officers boarded and removed the alleged troublemakers.
One witness said: “It was shocking, I never thought I would experience anything like this in my life. It has really left a mark on me; it has given me fear.
“I don’t think I will be flying for a while. It was an unbelievable experience. We had a nice holiday, and then to experience that on the way home, I just never thought I would have had to experience this.”
The Jet2 service LS896 departed Antalya, Turkey, at 6pm local time on February 12, and was scheduled to touch down in Manchester at 8pm.
Shortly after takeoff, a traveller claimed the duo were consuming alcohol excessively and surpassed their £210 beverage limit for the journey. They maintain the pair became belligerent, began rowing with fellow passengers and unleashed numerous bigoted comments.
“They made a few racist remarks,” the passenger said. “One of the lad turned to me and called me a Muslim mug.
“When he started getting racist, everyone on the flight kicked off. Flight attendants were asking everyone to stay calm, but the next thing you see, everyone starts fighting.”
A video clip captures the moment when one bloke snatches another’s glasses before being pushed. The situation quickly spirals out of control as multiple passengers rush towards the two men, joining in the brawl.
The passenger, who initially shared her experience with Sell Us Your Story, said: “All of a sudden, it all kicked off. Multiple lads started fighting, loads of people then got involved and started throwing punches.
“It was crazy, we were in mid-air. Honestly, I was speechless.
“I was s******* myself, we were mid-air. The female air hostesses tried to stop it; they handled it really well.”
The cabin crew announced that the plane would be making an emergency landing in Brussels, Belgium, where the two instigators would be removed from the flight.
The passenger reported that the plane erupted into cheers, chanting “bye-bye” as the pair were escorted off by police.
The flight later resumed its journey from Brussels, touching down in Manchester around 10:45pm.
“We landed in Brussels around 8:30pm local time, and we were on the tarmac for hour and a half. When the two lads were arrested, we were all cheering, everyone was singing bye bye.”
A Jet2 spokesperson stated: “Flight LS896 from Antalya to Manchester diverted to Brussels yesterday, due to the appalling behaviour of two disruptive passengers.
“They were both offloaded by police in Brussels and the flight continued to Manchester. We can confirm that the two disruptive passengers will be banned from flying with us for life.
“We will also vigorously pursue them to recover the costs that we incurred as a result of this diversion. As a family-friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behaviour, and we are very sorry that other customers and our colleagues onboard had to experience this too.”