'Stop Serving Them': EasyJet Fight Renews Calls for Pre-Flight Alcohol Checks

A mid-air brawl involving around 10 passengers forced an easyJet flight from Tenerife to Liverpool to turn back just 30 minutes after take-off, prompting renewed calls from holidaymakers for tougher alcohol checks before boarding.

The captain of flight EZY3352 requested an emergency return, telling air traffic control the violence posed a 'danger' to the safety of the flight.

The Liverpool-bound service had 186 passengers on board when the situation escalated. Air traffic control said in a statement that the crew contacted controllers about half an hour after take-off from Tenerife South Airport.

'A group of about 10 passengers had started a fight on board, and the captain decided to return due to the danger it posed to the safety of the flight. We expedited their return as much as possible while coordinating with the airport for police presence.'

Police met the aircraft when it landed back in Tenerife and the disruptive passengers were removed. The Spanish Civil Guard made no arrests, and the flight later departed again, eventually landing in Liverpool at 2.19am, nearly two hours behind schedule.

All those involved in the fight were reportedly British nationals.

EasyJet and Controllers Defend Decision To Turn Back

EasyJet said the decision to turn back was taken 'due to a group of passengers behaving disruptively'.

In a statement, the airline said: '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.'

Air traffic control added its support for crews dealing with such incidents, saying: 'Our full support goes out to the crews and passengers who are increasingly having to endure these situations.'

Fury Over Alcohol Checks and Onboard Drinking

Reaction on social media quickly focused less on the passengers involved and more on what many see as lax enforcement of alcohol rules. 'It won't be long before alcohol is banned on flights and those intoxicated are banned from travelling. The minority spoiling for the majority,' one Facebook user wrote.

Another holidaymaker described seeing 'people clearly blocked being allowed to board at the gate, a guy being carried by his 2 pals then continued to be served drink once in the air,' and argued airlines should get 'far stricter at the gate,' particularly on flights to 'party hot spots, Ibiza etc.'

Others called for limits on how much alcohol can be served on board, while some questioned whether gate-side breathalyser checks could ever work in practice.

Rising Unruly Behaviour Since Covid

Disruptive passenger behaviour on UK-linked flights has been rising sharply since the pandemic, with data shared in 2023 showing reports of unruly incidents had almost tripled compared with pre-Covid levels, ranging from mass brawls to drunken threats.

UK airlines are already required to report cases involving intoxicated, violent or unruly passengers to the Civil Aviation Authority, and officials at the Department for Transport and the Home Office are developing a scheme, still at concept stage, that would let airlines share information about problem passengers.

Under the proposal, carriers could notify the government of a disruptive traveller, with other airlines then alerted if that person tried to check in again and given the option to refuse them.

Public appetite for a crackdown appears strong. A YouGov poll of 5,173 British adults in April suggested three in four people support a national database of disruptive passengers to ban them from all flights.

None of that helped passengers stuck on the Tenerife runway on Tuesday night, who watched police remove a group of allegedly drunk fellow Britons before eventually flying home nearly two hours late.