A Liverpool-bound easyJet flight was forced to return to Tenerife just 30 minutes after takeoff following a violent brawl involving 10 passengers that erupted mid-air.
Flight EZY3352 departed Tenerife South Airport on Tuesday, July 21, in the evening with 186 passengers on board. But within half an hour into the journey, chaos erupted.
The air traffic control officials stated that a large group of passengers got involved in a physical altercation, which forced the captain to make a critical decision to return to the Spanish island, citing “due to the danger” the violence “posed to the safety of the flight.”
When the plane landed at Tenerife South Airport on Tuesday evening, Spanish Civil Guard officers met it at the airport after the crew requested the presence of police officers. Following the removal of the unruly passengers, the plane flew further to Liverpool.
While confirming the incident. easyJet stated that the plane “returned to the airport and was met by police due to a group of passengers behaving disruptively.”
The airline stressed its commitment to passenger safety: “Our cabin and ground crew are trained to assess all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other customers is not compromised at any time.”
“We take these incidents very seriously and do not tolerate disruptive behaviour towards our staff. The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is always our highest priority,” the airline added.
The air traffic controller also expressed solidarity with the crew, stating: “Our full support goes out to the crews and passengers who are increasingly having to endure these situations.”
All of them were apparently British, and there have been no arrests made by the Spanish Civil Guard. This has happened at a time when British government officials are preparing a new proposal which might result in bans for troublesome passengers on all airlines, not just on the particular one.
Government officials at the Department for Transport and the Home Office are preparing a system that will enable the sharing of information about unruly passengers among carriers. According to a recent survey carried out by YouGov among 5,173 Britons, almost 75% of respondents favoured such a ban on all flights for these troublesome passengers.
2026-07-22 19:40:00
