A woman was kicked off a plane full of British holidaymakers after drunkenly attacking cabin crew at 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean, and punching an air steward in the face.
The woman, who was believed to be British, was thought to have been drinking from her secret stash of alcohol on the Thomson Airways flight from Manchester to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
After shouting and hitting out at the cabin crew, the middle-aged woman had to be handcuffed to her seat – and the Boeing 767-300 was diverted to Bermuda so that she could be dealt with by local police.
She was kicked off the plane and the flight, which had 260 passengers onboard, eventually reached its Caribbean destination 28 hours later than scheduled, in the early hours of Saturday.
One passenger travelling on the Punta Cana bound flight, Brett Kenyon, said that the drama unfolded when the plane was just over half way in to the eight-hour journey when the woman stood up and began ‘shouting incoherently’ and lashing out at staff.
The 27-year-old passenger from Manchester said: ‘She went for them and hit one of the male stewards. He had a big shiner. Even when police took her she was struggling and tried to run off.’
Thomson Airways said: ‘The airline can confirm a female customer, onboard flight TOM104 travelling from Manchester to Punta Cana on November 5, became disruptive.
‘As a result, the pilot took the decision to divert the aircraft into Bermuda airport.
‘In accordance with our procedures, the local authorities were notified and the aircraft was met by the police upon landing into Bermuda.
‘The passenger was removed from the aircraft and the flight continued on to Punta Cana where it arrived at 01.33 (GMT) on November 6.
The spokesman added: ‘Thomson Airways would like to reassure customers that incidents of this type are extremely rare and that their safety is our first priority at all times.
‘Thomson Airways operates a zero tolerance policy with regards to any disruptive behaviour onboard its flights.’
Facebook
Twitter
Email 
