'Mass brawl' breaks out on Ryanair flight from Morocco to London (2024)

A mass brawl broke out on a Ryanair flight from Morocco to London last week forcing the plane to divert just 36 minutes into the journey.

Video from the cabin shows passengers screaming at each other in a row that was reportedly sparked when a family asked to swap seats.

Visibly flustered cabin crew are seen trying to calm the passengers down as the plane soars at 30,000 feet.

The plane was travellingfrom Agadir to London Stansted on Wednesday evening when a row broke out between two families as people boarded, one witness said.

The passenger said a man, believed to be in his late 20s, asked another passenger to move so he could sit with his wife and children, according to The Sun.

A mass brawl broke out on a Ryanair flight from Morocco to London last week forcing the plane to divert just 36 minutes into the journey, with footage capturing the chaos

However, the other passenger - a woman who was sitting with her own daughter - reportedly refused to move for the man, who became angry at her.

The witness said the irate man started threatening the women.

Despite this, the plane took off with no issues, but as soon as the seat belt signs were turned off, the woman's husband - said to be in his 30s - leapt to his wife's defence.

The two men threw punches at each other, the witness said, while Ryanair staff tried to intervene and bring an end to the fight.

'They were trying to punch each other,' a British passenger told The Sun anonymously, saying that this led to the mass brawl.

'One of the families was part of a larger group so other passengers started to join in.

'Then a lady in the row behind started to have a panic attack because of everything going on. She was screaming and there were kids crying.

'It was like a snowball effect,' the 36-year-old passenger said, describing the journey as a 'flight from hell'.

'It all escalated from that one passenger wanting to change seats,' they added.

The plane was diverted and landed atMarrakech around 30 minutes after take off.

Flight tracker website FlightAware showed the journey of flightRUK3034 as it took off from Agadir, a city onMorocco's southern Atlantic coast.

Video from the cabin shows passengers screaming at each other in a row that was reportedly sparked when a family asked to swap seats

Flight tracker website FlightAware showed the journey of flight RUK3034 as it took off from Agadir, a city on Morocco's southern Atlantic coast

The radar map shows the aeroplane travelling north before making an abrupt turn east and landing in Marrakesh, 127 miles north-east of where it took off from

The radar map shows the plane travelling north before making an abrupt turn east, before landing inMarrakesh, 127 miles north-east from where it took off from.

Moroccan police met the plane and marched the nine people who were involved in the cabin scrap off the aircraft.

To add to the chaos, another passenger fell ill amidst the fight and had to be given oxygen mid-flight. He was treated by medics who determined he was unfit to fly.

The unwell man then became abusive towards the cabin crew and refused to disembark, with this also being captured by mobile phone footage.

He can be heard saying that the crew 'think I'm a terrorist,' adding: 'that's why they're bringing the whole army here to take me down.'

He is also heard threatening: 'Give me my f****** bag. I will whack your jaw bruv' as other passengers begged him to get off the plane.

He was also removed by police.

In the two hours that it took cabin crew and police to remove the disruptive passengers from the plane, the staff reached their maximum daily working hours.

This meant that all passengers had to disembark the plane, were herded onto a bus, and taken to a hotel where they stayed the night.

They were all booked onto another flight the following day, which was also cancelled, meaning they didn't arrive back to Stanstead until Thursday evening.

In a statement to MailOnline, Ryanair confirmed the series of events and apologised for the 'diversion and subsequent delay caused by a small group of disruptive passengers' saying that this was out of the airline's control.

'This flight from Agadir to London Stansted (3 July) diverted to Marrakesh after a small group of passengers became disruptive, and during which time another passenger became ill onboard,' the statement said.

'Crew called ahead for both medical and police assistance, which met the aircraft upon arrival at Marrakesh. The small group of disruptive passengers were then removed from the aircraft by airport gendarmerie.

'The passenger who became ill was provided with oxygen onboard before being treated by airport medics, who determined he was not fit-to-fly.

In a statement to MailOnline, Ryanair confirmed the series of events and apologised for the 'diversion and subsequent delay caused by a small group of disruptive passengers'

'This passenger refused to disembark and became abusive towards crew and was also removed from the aircraft by airport gendarmerie.

'As it took almost 2hrs in total to treat and offload these disruptive passengers, the crew reached their permitted flying hours and the flight was delayed overnight.

Affected passengers were provided with overnight accommodation and transport to/from the airport. This flight departed to London the following day (4 July).

'We sincerely apologise to passengers for this diversion and subsequent delay caused by a small group of disruptive passengers, which was out of Ryanair's control,' the statement added.

'Mass brawl' breaks out on Ryanair flight from Morocco to London (2024)

FAQs

'Mass brawl' breaks out on Ryanair flight from Morocco to London? ›

Things became so chaotic that a male passenger allegedly fell ill during the madness, and the cabin crew had to administer him oxygen before landing, according to the Sun. The Ryanair flight landed in Marrakech, Morocco, where police boarded the aircraft, detained nine passengers involved in the fight and removed them.

Was Ryanair forced to divert flight from Morocco to London Stansted after mass brawl between passengers? ›

A Ryanair flight was diverted just 36 minutes into its journey after a mass brawl erupted between passengers. The chaos unfolded on an evening flight from Agadir to London Stansted, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Marrakesh, reported The Sun.

Did Ryanair diverted to Marrakech after mid air brawl? ›

As the situation escalated, the pilots decided they needed to divert and flew to Marrakesh to offload the “disruptive” passengers. Moroccan police met the plane on the runaway and removed nine passengers involved in the mid-flight brawl.

Has Ryanair stopped flying to Morocco? ›

Ryanair Flights to Morocco FAQs

Ryanair is still flying to Morocco. During the Coronavirus pandemic, the airline temporarily reduced its route network, as well as cancelling a number of routes.

Why do Ryanair flights get Cancelled? ›

Flights can be cancelled for reasons beyond our control, for example, ATC strikes, adverse weather conditions, medical emergencies, etc.

Why Ryanair will never fly to America? ›

“There are a couple of reasons. One is that Ryanair does 25-minute turnarounds and goes to a lot of uncongested airports in Europe. So we're able to get extra turns on the aircraft. But if you're on the transatlantic route, even the major carriers can't get an extra turn.”

Why is Ryanair so bad at landing? ›

To start off, the 737 is an inherently difficult plane to land. Along with the large amount of drag from the flaps, the plane's fuselage has been stretched quite a bit since the original 737-100 was built, meaning center of gravity and the amount of room to flare has been significantly changed.

What happens when a flight is diverted due to weather Ryanair? ›

If, for reasons outside our control, we cannot land at the booked destination airport and are diverted to another airport, then unless the plane continues to the original destination airport after the diversion, the carriage by air will be considered to be completed when the plane arrives at that other airport.

Where does Ryanair fly from Marrakech? ›

You can fly direct to Berlin, Palma de Mallorca and 44 other destinations with Ryanair. What countries can i fly to with Ryanair from Marrakech (RAK) without stops? You can fly direct to Germany, Spain, France and 7 other countries with Ryanair from Marrakesh Menara Airport.

Does Ryanair reimburse Cancelled flights? ›

If your flight has been cancelled or delayed you might be eligible for compensation or expenses. There are various rules and restrictions regarding making a claim, therefore it is advised to check your eligibility before requesting compensation and expenses.

Is it safe to fly to Morocco now? ›

What's the latest government advice about travelling to Morocco? The Foreign Office does not currently advise against travelling to any part of Morocco. However, it does state that terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks.

Why is it so cheap to fly to Morocco? ›

It's because of competition - as Morocco joined the European Open Skies programme, any airline from the EU can fly there, without being subject to government approval. And some low-cost airlines took advantage, bringing many tourists to the country at a low price.

What is the Ryanair argument? ›

Passengers got into an argument about switching seats that was so heated that their Ryanair flight had to turn back after just a few minutes. A Ryanair flight last Wednesday turned around soon after takeoff after an argument escalated.

How reliable is Ryanair? ›

Ryanair has a safety rating of 7 out of 7 from AirlineRatings.com. Ryanair was named one of AirlineRatings.com's Top Ten Safest Low-Cost Airlines for 2022.

Who owns Ryanair? ›

What happens if my Ryanair flight is cancelled due to strike? ›

Will Ryanair refund my ticket because of strike? If your Ryanair flight is cancelled, you should receive a refund or a replacement flight. If your flight delay exceeds 5 hours or more, the ticket cost will be fully reimbursed back to you upon cancelling the flight yourself.

What is the Ryanair diversion policy? ›

If, for reasons outside our control, we cannot land at the booked destination airport and are diverted to another airport, then unless the plane continues to the original destination airport after the diversion, the carriage by air will be considered to be completed when the plane arrives at that other airport.

What is Ryanair rerouting policy? ›

Take your original flight at its new departure time or; Request to be rerouted, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or at a later date at your convenience, subject to availability of seats or; Change your flight to new times/dates on the same route for free here.

What happened to the Stansted hijackers? ›

Nine Afghan hijackers were jailed in 2001 for hijacking, false imprisonment, possession of firearms and explosives, but were later acquitted in 2003. They were able to claim asylum here, whilst many of the hostages also claimed the right to stay in the UK.

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