The close quarters of an aircraft make for an intimate setting – not one where most would be likely to cause a stir.
Yet a select few passengers over the years have caused scenes which have descended into chaos – and even violence – after drinking alcohol on board.
It comes after Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has argued that the early morning airport pint should be banned, given the detrimental consequences of drunken passengers boarding aircraft.
He said his airline is being forced to divert flights almost daily because of drunken, aggressive passengers – and the problem is getting worse.
In attempt to rule out such behaviour, the budget carrier chief wants airport bars to stop serving alcohol so early and fall in line with licensing rules of pubs outside airports.
Here, the Daily Mail has compiled a list of some of the worst incidents of drunken behaviour on board, from vomiting passengers to those hurling abuse at their fellow travellers – and even cabin crew.
‘Party flight’ to Ibiza
A Ryanair flight set to land in Ibiza descended into partying chaos as passengers started singing and dancing
Those involved said the atmosphere was positive, and children were joining in with the fun
A rowdy Ryanair flight from Newcastle upon Tyne to Ibiza on 26 April this year descended into a mid-air party as dancing passengers ignored furious cabin crew.
Brandon Stephenson was among a group of revellers getting into the clubbing mood early while cruising at 30,000ft.
The 28-year-old got fellow passengers involved after blasting music from a speaker – much to the annoyance of one crew member.
Footage shared online has since racked up more than 250,000 views and 10,500 likes.
‘Everyone on the plane was happy other than one member of the cabin crew who kept shouting at us,’ Brandon, from Hartlepool, told creatorzine.com.
‘But we didn’t listen and just kept partying. Normally I am a nervous flyer so this eased my anxiety a lot.
‘The atmosphere was very good, there were even young kids there dancing and singing along with us.’
Passengers can be seen standing in the aisles dancing, laughing and drinking while cabin crew attempt to make their way through the plane.
Brandon appeared to lead the airborne bash after being the first to get up and dance before other excited Brits joined in.
But not everyone online was impressed.
The 28-year-old claimed he has received ‘death threats’ and abuse since posting the footage on social media.
Rowdy stag do
Staff escorted away members of a rowdy British stag party group on an easyJet plane
In another incident, a rowdy British stag party forced an easyJet flight to divert after they were seen vaping in their seats and abusing the cabin crew in May last year.
Six men were escorted off the plane in Faro, Portugal – hundreds of miles from their destination of Marrakech.
Witness Arron Davies, who was travelling with his friends, reported feeling disgusted by the events on the flight.
He claimed two members of the group were vaping in their seats while drinking heavily and being abusive towards the plane’s stewards.
Vomiting over family
An airplane passenger allegedly vomited all over a family sitting near her before spitting wine on them and eventually passing out – on board a British Airways flight from Heathrow to San Diego last August.
The captain was forced to call officers on the other side to request they meet the plane when it landed.
FBI operatives arrested the woman, described as the ‘ultimate passenger from hell’ by other customers, on the flight’s arrival in California.
Stunned passengers had first spotted the woman downing a bottle of wine she had sneaked into the cabin on Flight BA273 in her hand luggage, The Sun reported at the time.
The passenger claimed to be indulging in a ‘few drinks’ as it was her birthday, but according to others she was ‘off her face’ by the time the flight got to 30,000 ft.
The traveller started to hurl insults at a couple and their daughter who were sitting behind her, while continuing to drink alcohol.
She was also said to be walking unsteadily up the aisle in the direction of the toilet and uttering incomprehensible sentences.
A witness said: ‘She slugged as much wine as she could, got up from her seat, and intentionally spat the wine swilling around her mouth into their faces. It was disgusting and rancid.’
The passenger was spotted throwing water at the family before tugging the mother’s hair and taking pictures of the shocked trio.
She then vomited on her fellow travellers, prompting anger from those sitting near her.
At this point, cabin crew issued her a ‘final warning’ and moved the victim family from the economy section to the front of the British Airways plane.
Mid-pandemic brawl
Footage appeared to show two English passengers brawling after the flight took off from Amsterdam
A further incident saw two drunken English passengers on a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Ibiza refusing to wear masks on board in August 2020.
KLM required passengers to wear a face mask from the first boarding call until passengers had gone through the arrival gate at their destination during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A brawl broke out in mid-air, which ended with the Brits being arrested by Spanish police when they landed.
Both men were restrained with the help of other passengers and were later arrested by Spanish police on arrival in Ibiza after the pilot informed local authorities, The Independent reported.
A spokesperson for the airline said: ‘Two unruly passengers refused to wear their face masks and they were bothering their fellow passengers physically and verbally.
‘The pilot informed the local authorities and upon arrival, both passengers were arrested. The flight safety was not compromised during the flight.’
An Instagram user, MicHighClub, posted the footage and claimed that the passenger had been drinking vodka and refused to wear face masks.
Meltdown over ‘fat’ neighbour
A woman repeatedly pulled another female passenger’s hair, spat in her face and kicked her
Join the discussion
Should airports and airlines take stronger action to stop drunken disruptions on flights?
In the US, an entitled plane passenger was caught having a drunk meltdown after she was forced to ‘sit next to a f***ing fat lady’ on a cross-country flight.
The 32-year-old repeatedly pulled another female passenger’s hair, spat in her face and kicked her on a Southwest Airlines plane at LaGuardia Airport in New York en route to Kansas City last June.
Several clips also showed the woman screaming at the unidentified passenger over her weight and clothing.
The ‘intoxicated passenger’ appeared to get verbally confrontational with the other woman.
She then gripped the other woman’s hair and screamed: ‘Shut the f*** up, don’t f***ing touch me!’
Several people then stepped in, including two Southwest employees and another passenger, seemingly trying to de-escalate the situation.
A female employee then repeatedly asked the woman to let go of the other passenger’s hair, but she refused.
A traveller who recorded the scene told Daily Mail at the time that the woman was so aggressive she even ‘knocked the glasses off the Southwest employee.
