Man arrested after rowdy group forces plane to divert to Faro

PSP police arrested a man after they were called to deal with a rowdy group which forced the diversion of a plane to Faro Airport this Friday morning (January 19).

The Ryanair plane was heading from Luton, UK to Lanzarote, Canary Islands when the disorderly behaviour started.

One passenger told the UK’s Mail Online that a group of men – reportedly British –  started “bothering some female passengers”, after which a steward tried to intervene and was “knocked to the ground.” This led the crew to decide to divert the plane to Faro.

In a statement to the press, PSP police confirmed that they were called to deal with the “presence of eight disorderly passengers” aboard the flight at around 11.30am.

Once inside, the officers saw the passengers “causing disturbances”, such as “shouting and hitting the cabin luggage lockers repeatedly,” as well as “drinking alcoholic beverages and disregarding the instruction given by the flight crew.”

After being asked by the pilot to remove the passengers, the officers ordered the group to leave the plane – an order which was followed by seven of the eight men.

“One of the unruly passengers adopted became hostile, refusing to leave and repeatedly disobeying the orders directed at him. Consequently, the police were forced to proceed with his arrest and removal from the aircraft, using physical force due to his constant resistance,” the police force said in its statement.