LONDON: A drunken passenger aboard a Monarch Airlines flight from the U.K. to the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife was dumped on a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean as he abused the crew and other passengers and became uncontrollable. The pilot decided to have an unscheduled stop at the Portuguese island of Porto Santo, off the coast of West Africa, and take the man off the plane.
The man, said to be in his 50s and unidentified, has been charged with disruptive behaviour after the local police led him away from the plane, which was on its way from Manchester to Tenerife with more than 200 passengers. The flight then continued it onward journey and arrived at Tenerife four hours late.
The airline said in a statement that repeated attempts by the staff to calm him failed and he became rude. The pilot then decided to divert the Airbus A321 plane to Porto Santo and had him removed and handed over to the local police. It said it has not decided yet whether to sue him for the many thousands of pounds lost in taking the diversion and having the unscheduled stop.
Porto Santo is a Portuguese-controlled volcanic island and has a population of around 5,000 people. It is connected to the island resort of Madeira by a two-hour ferry ride.
According to passengers in the flight, the man, with obvious Irish features, began abusing the cabin crew after he was refused a drink as the flight took off from Manchester. He then turned his attention to his fellow passengers. The pilot, finding that he posed a risk, decided to divert the plane to Porto Santo rather than fly 45 minutes more to reach Tenerife.
At the airport, he was frogmarched to the tarmac by the local police and his baggage removed and searched.
The man is said to have later travelled to Madeira and from there to Tenerife by flight for a holiday there. A police spokesperson in Madeira said he was charged by the police and he could face a prison term. Although he is in Tenerife, the legal process will continue, the police said.
Posted
on : Sat, 31 Dec 2005 20:05 GMT | General News
By : Rob Davis
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