EasyJet passengers on a flight from Turkey to London feared for their lives after an unruly teenager threw a tantrum and tried to open the emergency door while they were tens of thousands of feet in the air – with one traveler describing the fiasco as an “escape from hell.”
The passenger, a 16-year-old girl traveling with her mother and grandmother, reportedly became agitated after a 10-year-old boy sitting next to her had a coughing fit, according to The Sun.
“The younger girl went to the toilet, but the older girl followed her,” a 39-year-old passenger named Nadine told the outlet.
Nadine said: “The girl kept yelling, ‘Get out of my face,’ and wouldn’t let her go out.”
When the younger girl's mother tried to intervene, the 16-year-old lost control, and the crew had to intervene and separate the group.
That's when Nadine said things really escalated.
She added: “She just started shouting at the crew members and then stormed into the back of the plane.” “She was trying to open the door and broke the handle. The crew pulled her away and handcuffed her.
He added: “She was surrounded by all the crew members, but one of them tried to calm her down. Nadine said: “She started screaming on the plane, and threatened to stab one of the crew members.”
The girl then took off running down the aisle and collided with a woman who was coming out of the bathroom, sending them both hurtling into the cockpit door with such force that it swung open.
“At one point she took off her shoes and threw them at the passengers. Everyone was very nervous,” Nadine recalls.
Crew members were eventually able to calm the girl and return her to her seat, but the pilots decided they needed to land for safety reasons.
The plane landed in Bari, Italy, and Nadine said that the police took the 16-year-old young man away, while the rest of the passengers were forced to spend the night in a dirty hotel full of mold.
“When we arrived at the hotel in Bari, we were terrified,” she said.
“Don't get me started on the bathroom with all the mold 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 piled up trash.
Nadine added: “I don’t think I will go on vacation for at least a year after that because it scared me so much.”
She claimed easyJet “did not care about us on board” and offered no compensation for the ordeal.
The airline told The Sun that passengers were not in danger on board, but the crew decided that landing the flight was a safety measure.
“The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew is always EasyJet’s priority.” The airline said in a statement. “Although this was beyond our control, we apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.
“We have done everything we can to minimize the impact of the diversion, providing hotel accommodation and meals. We have informed customers that we will reimburse any expenses incurred.”
