Flight diverted after drunk passenger goes berserk

LONDON, England – An air rage passenger brought terror at 30,000 feet as she threatened to smash a holiday jet’s windows – forcing it to divert.

LONDON, England – An air rage passenger brought terror at 30,000 feet as she threatened to smash a holiday jet’s windows – forcing it to divert.

The woman went berserk on the Thomas Cook Air Bus 321 in mid air after it took off from Newcastle en route to Dalaman in Turkey.

She was so disruptive that the jet, carrying 213 passengers, landed in Sofia, Bulgaria so she could be removed.

Still shouting abuse, she was arrested by local police and may now face legal action for the tens of thousands of pounds it cost the airline to divert.

Horrified eyewitnesses told how the woman, from the North east, had tried to smash windows in her drunken state.

Thomas Cook praised the actions of an off-duty policewoman who helped pin her down in her seat.

“The officer gave assistance to strap her to her seat with handcuffs until we landed in Sofia,” said one man on board.

“Police then removed her from the aircraft.”

Another added: “She went mental, kicking doors and windows.”

Flight TCX6522 was delayed by 90 minutes.

Thomas Cook Airlines praised the swift actions of their staff and the off duty cop.

A spokesman said: “A diversion of this nature is very, very rare – it is only the second time it has happened this year. Our staff are specially trained to deal with such situations.

“We would like to express our thanks to the off duty police officer who stepped in, it was a really helpful intervention.”

The woman was ‘severely disruptive’ forcing the captain to divert.

“Our staff acted impeccably and in the best interests of customers and colleagues, despite the extreme nature of the incident,” added the spokesman.

“We would like to apologize to the customers for any distressed caused and also for the short delay to the start of their holiday.”

Louise Rowcroft was among those waiting for the flight to land in Turkey so they could get on board to return to the UK.

Due to the air rage incident, they faced delays of 18 hours. It took a total of 27 hours to get back home.

She said: โ€œIโ€™ve just got home as a result of this, the crew were not fit to fly us home so we have been stuck in Turkey.

โ€œApproximately 250 of us had to fly to Manchester then get a bus back to Newcastle.

โ€œCanโ€™t fault Thomas Cook.โ€

The airline will assist police with any possible legal action taken against the woman who caused the delay. She has not been named.

Her male partner also left the flight in Sofia. He had not been involved in the incident.

Earlier this year Scotsman Andrew Tosh was jailed after he sexually assaulted a female cabin crew member on a Thomas Cook flight.

The 34-year-old also swore and acted aggressively to other passengers flying from Glasgow to Dalaman on May 6.

After the flight was diverted to Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, Tosh had to be carried off the plane by police, who released footage of his arrest.

They were forced to put him in a hood to stop him spitting at them.

Tosh, of Dundee, pleaded guilty to sexual assault, threatening and abusive behavior, assault and being drunk on an aircraft when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court on June 11.

He was jailed for nine months and placed on the sex offender register.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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