Exclusive
'FLIGHT FROM HELL'
Easyjet flight chaos after teen girl attacked cabin crew & tried to open plane door MID-AIR in row over girl’s coughing
The teen threatened to stab a crew member
A FLIGHT full of Brits had to make an emergency landing after a teenage girl attacked a member of cabin crew and tried to open the plane door mid-flight.
The Easyjet flight had to divert from Gatwick to Bari in Italy after a young female passenger allegedly assaulted staff and threatened to stab them while being held down.
6
6
6
Passengers on board claimed the out-of-control teen lost her temper at a 10-year-old girl because she was coughing loudly.
Nadine, 39, from Reading, and her daughter Jernai, 19, who were on the plane from Antalya to Gatwick on Friday night (Dec 27), described it as a “flight from hell” that ruined their Christmas.
She told The Sun: “We went to Turkey for Christmas, where we had a really lovely holiday at a hotel called Aska Lara.
"We were all nice and relaxed, but then it turned to hell on the flight home. It’s ruined my Christmas.
“So this 16-year-old was about four rows behind me and she was sitting next to a little girl who was about 10 started coughing and she told her to stop.
“The little girl went to the toilet but the older girl followed her to the toilet.
"The girl kept having outbursts saying ‘get out of my face’, and she wouldn’t let her out.
“Then the mum went down and the teenage girl was shouting in her face.
Most read in The Sun
"The mum and the little girl were crying so the crew walked the girl and her mum down to the to the front of the plane to get away from her."
FLIGHTMARE
Nadine said cabin crew asked the girl teen to go back to her seat - but she ignored them.
Moment Ryanair passengers cheer as yob is hauled off by cops after flight to Scotland makes emergency landing
The mum said: "She just started shouting abuse at the crew members and then she stormed to the back of the plane.
"She was trying to open the door and she broke the handle. The crew members pulled her away and restrained her.
"She was surrounded by all the crew members but one tried to calm her down.
“She started screaming on the plane and she threatened to stab a crew member.
"This was all happening in the middle of the plane as they were trying to get her away from the door.
“I was at the front and she came running down the plane and I watched her run down the plane.
"She went flying forward into the toilet the door but someone was coming out of the toilet.
"She fell into the woman who fell into the toilet into the pilots door was flung open."
Nadine added: "At one point she took off her shoes and threw them at passengers. Everyone was so nervous.
“People started getting upset and getting up. They eventually managed to get the girl to sit down.
"But for safety reasons the pilot had to announce that we would make an emergency landing and lowered the plane.
“The girl was flying with her mum and her Nan."
'ABSOLUTE HELL'
Nadine said she was angry that passengers did not get an apology after they were all ordered off the plane at Bari airport in Italy and shepherded into hotel rooms.
She added: “It was absolute hell. Easyjet did not care about us on the plane. They left us without any water.
“The pilot was tired, and he said he had to land for security reasons because a passenger breached security.
"We were asked to go into the airport, and when we landed, there were firemen, maintenance, and police.
"Police started gathering statements. The girl who caused the scene was arrested.
“You can imagine how upsetting it all was. It was just me and my daughter, I was crying."
Nadine said: "When we arrived at the hotel in Bari, we were horrified.
"When we ran the tap it was misty water, and we hadn't drank in hours.
"I went in and was sick on the floor. We had two single beds, the sheets were filthy.
"The room was freezing cold with only a little radiator which didn't even work.
"Don't get me started on the bathroom with all the mould on the floor. The door didn't even lock. There was a baby crying next door.
"The next morning I saw the hotel in the light - what a dump! There were broken windows and rubbish piled up."
Nadine added: “Easyjet has not apologised. There’s been no compensation."
“My daughter Jernai is 19, and she is scared to go away again. She has been traumatised by the experience.
"It ruined my Christmas, We got in at 12.50am and I collapsed into my own bed.
"I am ill because it was so cold in the room. I suffer from asthma and COPD and I can't go out and enjoy the rest of my Christmas.
"My family have all gone back to the Caribbean, and I couldn't see them because I was too ill."
'NOTHING BUT STRESS'
Jernai said: “It was nothing but stress, I had a headache, I feel really relieved to be home. I’ve never been so happy to be home.
“I don’t think I will go on a holiday for at least a year after this as it frightened me so much.”
She said she sent Easyjet an email but has not yet had no response.
Easyjet told The Sun: "Flight EZY8556 from Antalya to London Gatwick on 27th December diverted to Bari.
"It was met by police due to a passenger behaving disruptively onboard.
"EasyJet’s cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and acted quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers was not compromised at any time.
"While such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour onboard.
"As this led to the crew feeling unfit to operate, the flight was delayed overnight and scheduled to operate the following day.
"The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always easyJet's priority.
"While this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience this will have caused.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"We did all we could to minimise the impact of the diversion, providing hotel accommodation and meals.
"We have advised customers we will reimburse any expenses incurred.”
6
6
6
Topics