(TheProudRepublic.com) – What was supposed to be a nice flight turned into a nightmare, as Ryanair passengers described their recent flight from Morocco to the U.K. as a “flight from hell” after it made an emergency landing due to a fight and was ultimately canceled.
The London-bound flight from Agadir Al-Massira International Airport had to turn back less than 40 minutes into the journey following a dispute over seating arrangements.
According to witnesses, the trouble began when a man in his late 20s asked a woman to switch seats so he could sit closer to his family. When she refused, the situation escalated with threats being exchanged.
The flight proceeded as normal until reaching cruising altitude, when tensions erupted between the two passengers involved. Punches were thrown, prompting other passengers to join in and escalating into chaos.
One witness described it as causing a chain reaction of panic among passengers, with children crying and a woman suffering a panic attack.
“We were only in the air for 36 minutes before we had to make an unexpected landing. It was so stressful,” said an anonymous passenger.
In turn, the situation worsened when a male passenger fell ill during the altercation and needed medical attention, including oxygen. The pilot diverted the flight to Marrakesh, where Moroccan authorities boarded to handle the situation.
Nine individuals involved in the brawl were arrested and removed from the plane. Medics deemed the sick passenger unfit to continue flying, but he resisted leaving, leading to further delays and disruptions.
Moreover, video footage captured the tense standoff as the uncooperative passenger accused authorities of mistreatment. Eventually, after a lengthy delay, he was escorted off the aircraft by police.
Due to the extended time required to manage the incident and offload disruptive passengers, the flight crew exceeded their maximum flying hours. Consequently, Ryanair had to cancel the flight, leaving approximately 200 passengers stranded overnight.
Despite efforts to provide accommodations, frustrations continued the next day when the rebooked flight was also canceled. Passengers reportedly expressed their dissatisfaction by booing the crew upon their arrival for the third attempt to fly to London.
In a statement to the Sun, a Ryanair spokesperson explained the situation, attributing the disruption to “a small group of disruptive passengers” that was beyond the airline’s control. The spokesperson apologized to the passengers for the ordeal.
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