Rangers fan wearing a sombrero and two women 'so drunk they could hardly stand' are among six hauled off Ryanair 'flight from hell' after jet made emergency landing in France over fears for cabin crew
By Paul Thompson for MailOnline
A Ryanair captain was forced to divert his plane yesterday after a 'flight from hell' that saw six people ordered off by police, a medical emergency and cabin crew repeatedly having to tell people not to smoke.
Police boarded the 4.25pm flight from Manchester to Faro after it made an unscheduled stop to remove the disruptive passengers – Rangers fans and two women who were so drunk they could hardly stand.
The captain of the holiday flight was so concerned for the safety of the crew and other passengers that an hour into the trip he made an emergency landing in Nantes,
France.
Police boarded the jet and escorted three football fans, one of them wearing a red and yellow sombrero, from the plane, along with the two women who were arguing and swearing despite an old woman next to them suffering breathing problems.
It came after one fan was removed on the tarmac in Manchester before the flight had even taken off.
The football fans were among a group of supporters heading to Seville in Spain to watch their team in tomorrow's Europa League final.
A passenger on the early evening flight 9130 from Manchester to Faro told how trouble began before the Boeing 737 had even taken off with police having to speak with some of the fans.
'I have flown many times, but this really was the flight from hell,' said the passenger.
'The Ryanair cabin staff were fantastic and did their best to contain the situation, but these people were out of control. They were just drunken idiots who would not stop vaping or smoking and causing problems. No one was sorry when they were taken off.'
The trouble on the flight began before passengers had even boarded with police having to speak with a group of about a dozen Rangers supporters.
Other passengers noticed that they had been drinking for several hours – but police only warned them about smoking in the terminal.
Cabin crew ordered one of the fans off the plane before it had left the runway for disruptive behaviour.
The fans who were seated together and wearing blue Rangers shirts chanted songs during the first part of the flight until one of the other passengers asked them to stop hitting her chair.
'A woman who was sat in front of them fans told them to stop kicking her chair,' said the passenger.
'It all went a bit crazy after that. They were very abusive and disruptive. They were being told to stop smoking and not to drink alcohol they had brought on board.
'I went to the toilet at the back of the plane and as I came out there was an elderly woman who had breathing problems. The cabin crew gave her oxygen but close by there were two girls who were completely legless and arguing.
'They were shouting and swearing and going up and down the aisle and had to be told to sit down and stop causing problems.
'I went back to my seat and all you could hear were these fans chanting. The crew told them if they did not behave the plane would be met by police at Faro, but they took no notice.'
An hour into the flight the captain was given permission to land at Nantes where French gendarmes boarded and escorted three fans and the two women off the flight.
Passengers had a 75-minute delay before continuing with their journey.
had achieved. I hear glue sniffing can do all sorts of things to the mind but they really should make the warnings on them bottles larger.
